CD Projekt's RPG Cyberpunk 2077 got off to a challenging start in 2020 due to its many issues, but the game has rebounded since then and has now brought in more than 3 billion zloty ($752 million USD) since release. CD Projekt disclosed this in its latest earnings briefing.
A graph shows that Cyberpunk 2077's best year was 2020, when it earned $1.4 billion zloty ($351 million USD). Sales dropped off in 2021, but improved in 2022 and again in 2023. It's worth noting, too, that despite the game's issues, Cyberpunk 2077 sold 13 million copies right out of the gate in December 2020 to quickly become one of the best-selling RPGs in history. Thousands of people got refunds, but the game still started with a bang from a commercial perspective, and CD Projekt's executives were rewarded with big bonuses.
Of note, the 3 billion zloty figure includes sales of the game and its Phantom Liberty expansion. Like other studios, CD Projekt does not disclose game or marketing budgets. So while $750 million in sales sounds like a lot, there is no way to know how profitable the game is without accounting for what it cost to develop and market. Given that the game was in development for a very long time, it's a safe assumption that it carried a substantial development cost. Not only that, but CD Projekt's effort to turn things around after launch surely carried a not-insignificant cost.
What we do know is Cyberpunk 2077 sold more than 25 million copies and its Phantom Liberty expansion shifted more than 4.3 million copies as of the end of 2023.
For context, 2023's best-selling game, Hogwarts Legacy, made more than $850 million in just two weeks. 2022's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II needed just 10 days on the market to cross $1 billion in revenue. Grand Theft Auto V, meanwhile, made $1 billion in three days.
After its buggy launch, CD Projekt vowed to continually update, support, and improve the game to help get it into a better state. The company has done just that, and many said the 2.0 release at the end of 2023 marked a new era for the game and helped bring in new players.
An ultimate edition of Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2023, featuring the base game and the Phantom Liberty expansion.
Given the huge success of Cyberpunk 2077, it's no surprise that CD Projekt is now working on a sequel at its new office in Boston. This game, codenamed Orion, remains in the "concept" phase and is not expected to debut anytime soon.
Beyond the game, CD Projekt has partnered with Anonymous Content to create a live-action Cyberpunk project. Anonymous Content has an impressive track record--the studio produced Oscar-winning films like The Revenant and Spotlight, and has also succeeded in the television industry, helping to create popular series like Mr. Robot and True Detective.
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