CD Projekt RED Just confirmed a monumental milestone: Cyberpunk 2077 has reached the 35 million copies sold Five years after its launch. But the cold data hides a much more interesting reality for the industry. Currently, Night City is the only one that keeps the lights on in the offices of Poland, surpassing the income of the franchise The Witcher. How did you get a game with a disastrous launch becoming the undisputed financial pillar of the studio? We analyze it.
More than sales, a change of guard
What the latest financial reports reveal is a cycle change. Historically, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt It was the goose that lays the golden eggs that allowed financing the development of Cyberpunk. Now, the roles have been reversed. After analyzing the income graphs, it is evident that the sorcerer Geralt has entered his natural rest phase. On the other hand, V and Johnny Silverhand are carrying the economic weight of the company.
This is not luck; It is the result of a “Long Tail” strategy executed to perfection after update 2.0 and expansion Phantom Liberty. CD Projekt has shown that a game single-player, without the predatory microtransactions of a “game as a service”, you can maintain massive income streams if you invest in fixing the user experience and expanding the narrative.
Cyberpunk: Fuel for Polaris and Orion
Why do we care about this to the players? because these 35 million copies are the ones that are paying for the development of what is to come. The vast majority of the CDPR team is no longer working on Cyberpunk 2077, but in Project Polaris (the next The Witcher).
The financial stability it grants Cyberpunk Today is what allows the studio to take the time to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past with its future releases. It’s the ultimate proof that the brand’s redemption, albeit late, was total: they went from offering massive refunds in 2020 to having the main source of sustainable income in 2025.
Verdict: A Resistance Lesson
a case like Cyberpunk 2077 It’s a rare thing to find in the industry. As is known, when a title debuts with as many problems as the acclaimed CD Projekt Red was at the time, it does not usually have a second air of glory. On the contrary, the press, the specialized critics and the gamers themselves turn their backs by voting with the wallet. But it is undeniable that the resources invested have paid off, since it has currently become an extremely robust proposal for a player, leaving behind those days where there was fear of finding one of his innumerable bugs.
Such favorable sales numbers result in great news, especially for us, which we look forward to the following from the authors of Cyberpunk. We can be sure that you will have a large injection of capital in your production; who will be even more careful in the development and the details that can hinder the experience; and that the gameplay focused on an experience single player It will remain the basis of the possibly new success of CD Projekt Red.
Do you think that the next game of The Witcher will manage to exceed these figures or Cyberpunk is already the queen IP of the studio? Leave us your opinion in the comments.
