It's hard to find a more notorious example of a recent release that severely failed to live up to its own hype than CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077. The ambitious sci-fi FPS was many years in the making, and fans were primed for an expansive, adrenaline-pumping experience when Cyberpunk 2077 finally launched in 2020. But what they got instead was a game littered with bugs and missing several expected features, which quickly soured players on the otherwise decent title as Cyberpunk 2077 saw a rapid drop in sales, review bombings, and other seemingly long-lasting impacts on its success.
Games only get one chance at a first impression, and many that bomb that spectacularly find it hard to move out from under the shadow of their failures, but it seems like Cyberpunk 2077 may be the exception. After years of work from the development team to provide patches, improve features, and work towards releasing hefty DLCs, Cyberpunk 2077 was starting to turn its reputation around. Now, mostly thanks to the brand-new anime series Edgerunners that landed on Netflix this month, Cyberpunk 2077 is experiencing a resurgence that could have a major impact on CD Projekt Red's future.
A Reversal Of Fortunes
Cyberpunk 2077 didn't have the most promising of starts, with its negative reception tanking CD Projekt Red's stock price almost overnight and forcing the developer to course correct as a result. Work shifted immediately to bug fixes and repairing damage, rather than looking ahead to any exciting new content that Cyberpunk 2077's team might have had planned. Now, almost two years after the game was first launched, Cyberpunk 2077 is seeing a massive spike in its player base as gamers flock back to Night City.
With September providing both the the Edgerunners update that brought more fixes to the base game and the darkly entertaining anime of the same name, it has proven to be a promising time for the franchise. The anime has been well-received and has either encouraged gamers to return or be introduced to the incredible world of Cyberpunk 2077. The developer has also been laying the foundations for the upcoming Phantom Liberty DLC, which has piqued the interest of many fans ahead of its own launch next year. The future of Cyberpunk 2077 is finally looking bright once again as a result.
What This Means For CD Projekt Red
While this seems like a positive time for CD Projekt Red after a period of profound struggle, Cyberpunk 2077's resurgence could have a few interesting implications for the developer and its future. At first, the response around Cyberpunk 2077 seemed more like crisis management, and thoughts of growing the franchise were put on hold or even appeared to be permanently abandoned. Now that things are looking up, and the game has a bigger player base, CD Projekt Red may want to think about what the future of the franchise looks like, with chunkier DLCs or possibly even a sequel.
Initially, the developer was going to double-down on the beloved Witcher franchise in response to Cyberpunk 2077's less-than-ideal launch, and with a whole new saga on the way, it seemed as if players could be in for many years of Witcher content over any new series or standalone titles. The Witcher franchise still feels like safer ground, especially considering the popular reception of the last mainline installment, but Cyberpunk 2077's change in fortunes could mean that CD Projekt Red rethinks this approach.
With CD Projekt Red's stock prices crawling back up and a renewed interest in its output, it's not in as much of a dire position as it was at this time last year. The developer may still be slightly risk averse, but it's shown that it is willing to put in the work and invest in its games, which could go a long way to winning back players' trust. Even though the next Witcher game seems like it will be the developer's main focus for a while, it might still consider another original IP down the line given how much Cyberpunk 2077 has managed to change minds and bring back fans.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.