CD Projekt have announced Cyberpunk 2077 has sold 13.7 million in 2020, in spite of the game’s issues.
The announcement came via CD Projekt’s investor relations Twitter. This did not stop it from going unnoticed by those scorned by the game. While some praised Cyberpunk 2077, others condemned the game as still being buggy, and achieving pre-orders from allegedly deceptive trailers. Boasting of the game’s sales while the game itself was still being fixed was also criticized. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
Earlier figures had placed this at 700,000 less than the new report. Despite selling 13 million copies by the end of December 2020, the founders of developer CD Projekt Red were predicted to have lost $1 billion USD. While the new figure is based on “company estimates based on information collected from distributors,” it is unsure how refunds have affected this figure.
CD Projekt has had months of negative press thank to the game; numerous delays and leaked footage were not the end of the woes. One reviewer suffered a major epileptic seizure, and accused the developer on basing the Braindance headset off a medical device designed to intentionally induce seizures.
Despite high praise from initial reviews, users complained of Cyberpunk 2077‘s numerous glitches and bugs; along with poor optimization, and the console version having inferior graphics and more bugs. Even critic reviews that praised the game also discussed those issues.
CD Projekt Red stock value dropped by 29% in a week after the game launched. CD Projekt Red apologized for the game’s advertising and launch, and offered full refunds. However, two lawsuits have been launched by investors- one in Poland also being an attorney.
Both Sony and Microsoft stated they would offer full refunds for the game. Sony would remove the game from the PlayStation Store, but there were “no talks” of Microsoft removing it from theirs.
The company also shared their “Commitment to Quality” agenda, and FAQ trying to explain how the issues came about. The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is also monitoring CD Projekt.
In a “Strategy Update for investors,” Adam Kicinsk, President and Joint CEO of Projekt Red, explained the companies’ future plans for growth, and changes. This included announcing the cancellation of the game’s stand-alone multiplayer, and future marketing and PR campaigns being closer to the game’s launch.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on Windows PC (via Epic Games, GOG, and Steam), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia. The game is also coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2021, and players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One respectively will be able to upgrade to the next-gen for free.
