Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 still drive CD Projekt's revenue growth

CD Projekt (CDP) posted its financial results for 2022, and it continues to thrive thanks to the resurgences of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. Per chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz, it's the "strong performance" of the studio's back catalog that drove the studio's success for the year.

For 2022, Nielubowicz stated the Polish developer made around 952.6 million PLN (or $222.1 million) in sales revenue. That's up 7 percent from 2021's fiscal year and the second best year in the studio's entire history. Net profit was similarly successful at 347.1 million PLN, up by 66 percent from 2021's 208.9 million PLN.

In December 2022, The Witcher 3 came to current-gen consoles (read: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S) for those who owned it on the previous console generation. The game has been popular since its 2015 release, and coming to newer consoles helped extend its lifecycle even further. 

Speaking to that game, Nielubowicz said having The Witcher 3 on current-gen would "ensure it continues to sell well in the coming years."

Cyberpunk 2077, meanwhile, owes its turnaround to its current-gen patch and Netflix's Edgerunners anime that premiered in September. It led to a boost in the game's player count, and later that month, CDP reported the game had sold 20 million copies. 

Nielubowicz credited Edgerunners for the game's renewed success, saying it proved that "expanding the scope of our franchises is the right direction."

CDP has one eye on the past and another on its future

Both The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 are effectively being used as cushions by CD Projekt as it has multiple projects in development. Several of them are set in the Witcher universe, such as a remake of the original 2007 game and the start of a new trilogy of games. 

Cyberpunk 2077 is also confirmed for a sequel, in addition to its Phantom Liberty expansion set to release sometime this year. 

Finally, the studio is working on a new wholly original project. Currently known as Project Hadar, the developer plans for it to eventually expand into a multimedia franchise, similar to Cyberpunk and The Witcher.

Towards the end of the video presentation, Nielubowicz also touched on the state of CDP and its independence. He revealed that at the end 2022, CDP's financial reserves hit 1.1. billion PLN. 

Those reserves, he mentioned, has let the studio maintain independence and "enables us to pursue our ambitious development goals."