Cyberpunk 2077 was originally revealed back in 2012, which means it was eight years in development. That’s a very long time in this industry, so it stands to reason that the game was not cheap to make from start to finish. Well, according to CD Project, all of that time is now fully paid off; the company revealed today that Cyberpunk 2077 has not only recouped its development costs, but has also made back the money spent on marketing.
The news comes via CD Projekt’s site, in the form of a “current report.” Here’s the most relevant excerpt:
The Management Board of CD PROJEKT S.A. with a registered office in Warsaw (hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) hereby announces that the estimated licensing royalties receivable by the Company in association with pre-order sales of Cyberpunk 2077 across all of its digital distribution channels have exceeded the sum of the following:
– total development expenditures related to the game, and
– the game’s marketing and promotional costs borne by the Company – either already incurred or anticipated for the remainder of 2020.
News of big successes like this normally comes in the form of more polished announcements, but according to the report, CD Projekt’s management “decided to disclose the above information in the form of a current report due to its potential impact on investment-related decisions.”
One possible motive behind the announcement is to assuage any concern surrounding the game in the wake of its release. The game has generally received a positive critical reception on PC, but technical issues (and many reviewers’ inability to play console versions prior to launch) has resulted in backlash. Game Informer scored the game a 9 out of 10 based on the PC version; you can read our review, or watch it below:
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Regardless of the form of the announcement or the reasons behind it, the news is pretty astounding. It means that this massive and prolonged project made up its development and marketing costs based only one pre-orders and day-one sales. That would almost certainly have to make Cyberpunk 2077 one of the most financially successful launches ever.
As with any major triple-A game, you can find mixed opinions online (and valid criticism), but now that Cyberpunk 2077 is finally out, plenty of people are enjoying their time with CD Projekt Red’s ambitious open-world RPG. If you’re beginning your journey in Night City, be sure to check out our Beginner’s Tips. Or, for something on the lighter side, read this ranking of Cyberpunk 2077’s Top Release Dates.
