In an unforeseen but welcome surprise for many, CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity over the past couple of weeks. The developer recently reported that a staggering 20 million copies of Cyberpunk 2077 have been sold since launch, along with its player count up nearly 300% recently. Such impressive numbers come from a variety of reasons, but for the most part, the game owes its comeback to the Netflix series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was announced in 2020, and while it was viewed as an exciting prospect, no one could have predicted just how influential the anime would become. Similar to how Netflix's The Witcher found new fans to join Geralt on his in-game adventures, or how Arcane introduced many to League of Legends' characters, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has spurred the revival that Cyberpunk 2077 desperately needed.
Cyberpunk 2077's Extremely Disappointing Launch
Unfortunately, after a long nine-year wait for the game's release, many Cyberpunk 2077 players had a difficult time roaming the streets of Night City on their first playthrough. It quickly became apparent that the game was home to a treasure trove of bugs and glitches. While some didn't mind the glitches in Cyberpunk 2077, they found that the storyline was lacking in heart. Others reported that the game was crashing their drivers and causing their GPU fans to work overtime.
By the end of 2020, most reviews had already written off the open-world RPG as one of the biggest gaming flops of the decade, with the disappointing games that followed being labeled as "the Cyberpunk 2077 of the year." As expected, bad reviews deterred plenty from trying the game, and it seemed, despite a lot of patches, that Cyberpunk 2077 would be mostly forgotten.
Cyberpunk 2077 Finally Finds its Footing
Nearly two years after its release, CD Projekt Red is finally finding its footing after the overwhelming success of its crossover anime series, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. While the developers were already listening to player feedback, patching issues, and making great improvements to the game, it's probably more due to the interest in the series that Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a sequel.
The anime takes place before the events of the game, which makes sense as there are several locations that players can visit, such as apartments, that once belonged to characters in the show but are now inhabited by others. Many are playing the game to find references to David Martinez, Lucy, or other links to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners while also interested in learning more about the dystopian universe. Seeing as the anime is only one season with ten episodes and has not been confirmed for a second season, the game is serving as a refuge for those that want to continue exploring Night City.
Of course, Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't have stood on its own without the necessary patches that have been added over the years, just as a show set in the same universe is not enough to fix pre-existing issues. September introduced the game's Edgerunners update, also called update 1.6, which included items and connections to the show while also improving overall gameplay.
The freedom that the game gives its users is one of the main reasons people are sticking around, as they are able to copy David's Sandevistan Arasaka build and recreate other tactics from the show, while also having the chance to create something entirely new. Perhaps the praise that Cyberpunk 2077 is receiving as of late will convince CD Projekt Red to continue pouring time and attention into the game before starting on the sequel.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
