Crimson Desert’s Metacritic Score Leads To 30% Pearl Abyss Stock Drop

Metacritic scores have always been a source of controversy in the video game industry. Games can live or die by them, as if bad word of mouth spreads, it can tank a game. In contrast, great ones can drive big sales and Game of the Year nominations. But now we’re seeing the results of “underperforming” even with what is supposed to be a perfectly fine score.

Pearl Abyss, the publisher of Crimson Desert, saw its stock fall by 30% after the Metacritic score of the game was revealed when the review embargo dropped. It’s a 78/100, where, if this were, say, a movie or TV show, that would be pretty great. But the video game industry is different, and for Crimson Desert, it simply isn’t good enough for investors.

What’s going…