Pearl Abyss sells CCP Games back to its management for $120 million

Pearl Abyss has sold CCP Games, the studio behind EVE Online, back to CCP’s own management team for $120 million. The deal was announced by the Korean publisher on April 30, nearly a year after reports said Pearl Abyss was looking to offload the studio.

According to InvenGlobal’s report, Pearl Abyss said the sale followed a review of its longer-term strategy and changing priorities. The company had owned CCP since 2018, when it bought the Icelandic developer for a reported $180 million to $200 million, with the total potentially rising higher if performance targets were met.

That makes this a notable exit. Pearl Abyss is selling CCP for less than it originally paid, even though EVE Online has remained an important revenue driver over the years. The source material doesn’t include any new details on how the management buyout will affect day-to-day operations, leadership structure, or EVE Online‘s current development plans.

For players, the immediate takeaway is pretty simple: CCP is independent again, and EVE Online is back under studio leadership rather than Pearl Abyss ownership. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see whether the change shifts CCP’s broader project slate, which in recent years has included new EVE-related spinoffs alongside the long-running MMO itself.

The original sale was also referenced in Pearl Abyss’ filing, which confirmed the transaction. For now, that’s the main confirmed news: CCP Games has changed hands again, and Pearl Abyss is out.