On October 3, 2026, the “Black Desert” offline event “Adventurer Appreciation Festival 2026: Orbia Academy Festival” was held.
This event allowed approximately 100 adventurers, selected via a lottery, to enjoy *Black Desert*-themed content in person.
Featuring attractions modeled after in-game content, delicious food and drinks, and lively stage events, it turned out to be an event that fans couldn’t resist.
The event began with an opening ceremony, featuring a live violin and flute performance by GM Carolia and GM Moneto.
Accompanied by footage of *Black Desert*’s fields, they played memorable melodies that will surely leave a lasting impression on adventurers.
After the musicians took their leave, GM Muraska and GM Penji took the stage to deliver their greetings.
Since it was a school festival, they began by announcing the schedule. Then, they explained the attractions.
There’s an item called “Academy Coins” that you can earn by completing each attraction… If you collect one gold, one silver, and one bronze coin, you can exchange them for a keychain holder.
Alternatively, a single coin can be exchanged for a keychain. It’s totally fine to trade the coins and keychains with each other! It’s a fun touch that really captures the spirit of an MMORPG.
Also, apparently, if you talk to a GM, they’ll randomly give you one coin. This really gives it that quest-like feel!
Next, the GMs took the stage once again to greet everyone. Also, Mr. Jang Jae-seok, the Head of Live Service for *Black Desert* from South Korea, has come to Japan.
“I came here thinking this would be a chance to talk with everyone in Japan. I’ve been in Japan for about seven days now, but it’s been raining the whole time… I’m so happy it’s sunny today. We’ve prepared a variety of content for you today, so please enjoy it. Thank you,” he said in his greeting.
With that, attendees were free to enjoy the event at their leisure for a while. Players wandered around the venue as they pleased.
Photo spots were set up in various locations throughout the venue. Attendees were taking photos of their favorite character classes.
There was also a custom-made mannequin dressed in a Dead Eye costume.
The outfit was meticulously crafted down to the finest details and really stood out.
In addition, food and drinks inspired by items from the game were available, and I tried a few myself.
The guava juice was pleasantly fruity—right up my alley. Vitamin C +100!
The grilled llama cheese skewers were slightly spicy and had a nice bite to them. I was also happy to see they were served with saffron rice.
I also enjoyed items like the Eil sandwich and honeycomb cookies until I was full.
With my stomach full, I checked out the attractions where you can earn coins.
Here, under the title “Combat Department: Gaipinrasia Temple (Basement) Practical Training Experience,” you can enjoy a game similar to a shooting gallery.
You choose a weapon—a bow, shuriken, or Gravity Core—and take down Destroyers, Sentries, and White Priests. The bow was more powerful than I expected, and it made a pretty intense sound. The shuriken looks like it’ll be tricky~.
On the other side, the “Training Department: Path to Becoming a Trainer—Horse Capture Practice” was also taking place.
This activity involves using a lasso to catch a horse’s neck within 30 seconds. It looked pretty tough to get the lasso around the neck of such a small horse.
Of course, there’s also a message board.
It was filled with messages of gratitude from users celebrating the 11th anniversary.
Now, it was finally time for the stage event. First up was a true-or-false quiz with story segments!
Jeseok returned to the stage to present quizzes related to Black Saba.
He posed many questions that were hard to answer definitively—such as, “Was it Je-seok who came up with the name for the ‘Shy’ skill?”
He then shared some top-secret behind-the-scenes development stories related to the questions, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere.
The next segment was the illustration relay game! Teams were formed by row, and the goal was to pass on a given prompt using drawings. The key was how many people in each row had a knack for drawing.
Answers ranged from a unicorn to a horse to a Dine, but the correct answer was “Krogdal”!
After deliberation by the GMs, it was ruled the correct answer.
The final segment was the “Three Types of Black Mackerel” Showdown! Audience members in attendance challenged either Team Carolia & Rani or Team Treed & Moneto to matches in Yara!, Snowboarding, and the Free Dueling Arena.
The matches in “Yara!” and “Snowboard” were neck-and-neck battles, but in the “Free Duel Arena,” the adventurers’ side won by a landslide.
Watching “Black Desert” PvP on the big screen is so exciting!
Afterward, following the traditional prize raffle, attendees received souvenirs, and the event came to a close.
It was an event that truly lived up to the name “Fan Appreciation Festival,” faithfully recreating the world of *Black Desert* as much as possible.
Today, I’m going to swap out my keycaps and log in!
