Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t have the smoothest path to release, going through multiple delays and a heavy series of crunch. When the game finally went to market, it was savaged by critics and users alike for numerous launch issues and deeper problems in both story and design. While the game definitely had some defenders, it was definitely not the victorious release the CD Projekt Red would have hoped for.
The biggest hit to the game was undoubtedly when Sony stepped in and delisted the game from the PlayStation Network. At the time, the move was seen as an obvious punishment for CD Projekt Red promising players refunds, then pushing them to contact Sony. It would appear that the overall impact of the delisting, along with the negative reviews for the game, has had quite an impact on CD Projekt Red’s financials.
In a recent earnings call, as reported by Reuters, the company failed to say how many units it sold that quarter, and net profit for the first quarter fell around 64.7% to 32.5 million zlotys. Considering analysts predicted an 80 million zlotys quarter, then is quite the miss. A large part of the problem appears to have been a ballooning post-launch budget to fix the game.
Shares in CD Projekt Red hit an all-time high in the run-up to the release of Cyberpunk 2077, but have lost around 60% of their value since then. Analysts still feel that the company can turn these results around, however, and simply need to regain trust with a continued focus on fixing Cyberpunk 2077 and providing a quality product for people who have been on the fence to engage with.
