Phantom Liberty did more than cement Cyberpunk 2077's turnaround, it also became the big driver for CD Projekt's financial growth during 2023's third quarter.
Within two months of release, Cyberpunk 2077: The Phantom Libertyhit 4.3 million copies sold, according to CD Projekt's CFO Piotr Nielubowicz.
In the company's financial breakdown for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, he revealed the expansion was the main driver for the 443 million PLN (or $112.74 million) in revenue made between July 1 and September 30, 2023. Compared to last year's 245.5 million PLN, that's growth of about 80 percent.
Phantom Liberty had already hit 3 million in its first week, so the updated metric shows how well word of mouth, and Cyberpunk 2077's larger turnaround in the last three years, has worked.
Speaking to the base Cyberpunk, he also noted that CD Projekt's "strong" marketing campaign naturally led to more sales for the original game. Net profit for the overall quarter hit 203 million PLN, over double from 2022's 98.9 million PLN.
Steam accounts for the majority of Phantom's sales, Nielubowicz continued, and the larger community support has been "encouraging." While the expansion is the last major content drop for Cyberpunk, CD Projekt Red is at work on a sequel (codenamed Orion) and a live-action project for the game.
There's also the Ultimate Edition of the game coming on December 5, which will bundle the base game with Phantom Liberty and "additional content."
With Phantom Liberty now out, CDPR has devoted most of its staff to the next mainline Witcher game. Currently known as Polaris, the title has will establish a new trilogy and run on Unreal Engine 5. CDPR has slowly been transferring Phantom staff over to it as development on the expansion was winding down.
Though the majority of CDPR is on Polaris duty, some staff remains on the multiplayer Witcher spinoff from The Molasses Flood and Gwent-related projects. A good amount of employees are also at work on "other projects," which likely include the Cyberpunk sequel and a wholly original CD Projekt property.
No mention was made of the previously announced remake for the first Witcher game, nor the project from a third-party developer comprised of Witcher veterans.
You May Also Like
