Despite all the bugs and problems on the launch, Cyberpunk 2077 still managed to earn enough to cover its development and marketing costs. The game reportedly had over 8 million pre-orders before its official release, with the majority leaning towards the PC version. Its devs, CD Projekt Red, also announced that Cyberpunk 2077 had earned $50 million in the first two weeks from Steam alone.
Cyberpunk 2077 will Still May Be One of the Best Selling Games
Following the disappointing launch of Cyberpunk 2077, CDPR took a major swoop on its financial side. The wave of negativity directed at its game led to a significant 30% drop in the company's stock.
In an effort to calm nervous investors, CD Projekt Red issued a memo informing stockholders and the general public that Cyberpunk 2077 had already recouped its costs of development and marketing.
This means from that moment, every additional copy sold will be of pure benefits, either now or months down the line. CDPR also hopes that after it has the chance to tweak up the game, the results would be better.
The Controversy
In the age of light-speed tech and social media, a bad release may end up having a greater impact on launch than on the bad product itself. It’s a well-known phenomenon, the one that leads to critically panned sequels to great games and movies. They oftentimes make significantly more than critically acclaimed first entries.
With CD Projekt Red, it’s likely that The Witcher 2's good reviews contributed to the monumental success of The Witcher 3. Then, in turn, it accounts for hype and ultimately letdown surrounding Cyberpunk 2077.
Only the future could tell whether the negativity surrounding the game release has any corresponding effect on CD Projekt Red's next releases.