Neverwinter Has 20 Million Accounts, And Other Details From Perfect World's Sale

When Daybreak Game Company was purchased by Enad Global 7 late last year, we learned a lot about the game developer's business, and the relative popularity/revenue of its games, from an investor's presentation that accompanied the sale. Likewise, last week's sale of Perfect World Entertainment by Embracer Group has spawned a document that provides a number of similar details about PWE's business and the numbers generated by its most popular games.

The big winner in PWE's MMORPG portfolio is Cryptic Studios' Neverwinter, which is listed as having "20+ million players" and "$400+ million in revenue," both of which are likely all-time figures. Next on the list is Star Trek Online, with six million players and $240 million in revenue, followed by the Perfect World MMO at four million/$200 million. The Torchlight series clocks in at five million and $65 million, while Remnant: From the Ashes has sold three million units and made $70 million.

Listed in the "other IPs" section, but not getting dollar figures, are Champions Online, Runic Games' Hob, and, curiously enough, Gigantic, which shut down three years ago. City of Heroes is also mentioned among Cryptic's "rich legacy of MMOs," where it is "still remembered fondly" by its former players. Some are more fond than others.

Looking to the future, Embracer expects Perfect World Entertainment's net sales in 2021 to reach 700 million Swedish krona, or about $77 million USD. By comparison, Guild Wars 2 brought in about $55 million over its last four quarters.

I'm not one to tout doom and gloom when one company is purchased by another one, but if you're a fan of one of Cryptic/PWE's smaller games, like Champions Online, I wouldn't be too hopeful for the future. Seeing it not even get mentioned alongside the bigger games in PWE's portfolio doesn't seem like a good sign to me, and it wouldn't surprise me to see a little trimming of the tree in the post-holiday months.