[GameSpot] - Cyberpunk 2077 Issues Hurt CD Projekt's Profit

[343iBot]

CD Projekt has released its latest earnings results, and included amongst the numbers was some commentary around Cyberpunk 2077 and what's next for the studio.

Starting off, CD Projekt Red it remains "hard at work" on Cyberpunk 2077's new version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, noting that it remains on track to launch in the first quarter of 2022 (January-March). Additionally, a "major update" for Cyberpunk 2077 on all platforms will be released around this time, the Polish developer said.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's PS5 and Xbox Series X|S edition remains in development, too. CD Projekt previously said it's on track to launch in Q2 2022 (April-June).

A Cyberpunk 2077 expansion pack is also in development, but CD Projekt did not say when it's scheduled to release. The company did, however, provide a graph that shows it continues to increase the size of the development team working on the expansion.

Even more developers are now working on Cyberpunk 2077's first expansion

All of this is happening as CD Projekt attempts to "transform" its studio to become a company that makes more games simultaneously. To that end, CD Projekt recently acquired Digital Scapes and The Molasses Flood to become CD Projekt Vancouver and CD Projekt Boston, respectively. There is no word yet on what these teams are working on.

In terms of numbers, CD Projekt made 144 million PLN in revenue for its third quarter, which is up by more than 40% compared to the same period last year. Total profit, however, slid to 16 million PLN, down from 23.4 million PLN. The company said the downturn was attributable in part to expenses related to updating and improving Cyberpunk 2077 after its rocky launch, and costs covering "exploratory work" on new projects that are at the beginning of their development cycles.

Looking ahead, CD Projekt will face a tough comparison in the fourth quarter of 2021. CD Projekt saw a massive spike in revenue in Q4 2020 thanks to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which had one of the most commercially successful launches in the history of RPGs, despite the issues. The graph below shows just how big of an impact Cyberpunk 2077's launch had on CD Projekt's bottom line--no other product release in the company's history comes close.

Cyberpunk 2077's launch in December 2020 was a huge commercial success

Despite Cyberpunk 2077's issues, CD Projekt remains intent on improving upon and expanding the game so it can sell for years to come. The game is currently 50% off on Steam as part of the Autumn Sale.

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