Cyberpunk 2077 earned its living before the release of »Vortex
Already in Friday’s news summary, we informed you about the records that came with the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 from the developers of the RED Project CD. The fastest-selling PC game in history, with more than 8 million pre-orders and at least $ 50 million in revenue at the end of November. It sounds intoxicating, but given the level of expectations and long development, it’s probably not surprising. Therefore, we are not surprised by the report from the management of CD Projekt SA, which announces that even before the release, the game was able to earn money thanks to an enormous number of pre-orders.
“In connection with Cyberpunk 2077’s pre-orders across all digital distribution channels, we announce that the estimated amount has exceeded all title development and marketing costs,” the report said specifically. In the case of marketing costs, the remaining expenses for this year are also included and it is therefore safe to say that the Cyberpunk 2077 is profitable from the first day of sale. Of course, this opens up the possibility for developers to devote themselves fully to the further development of the game, to work on the promised multiplayer parts and, of course, to shed efforts towards other brands as well. All this despite the great technical problems that affect all available versions, especially when playing on the basic models of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles.
According to Bloomberg, the bonus system will be modified and in the future will no longer depend on the aggregated score from the reviews on the Metacritic portal.
The unsatisfactory technical condition is thus in direct conflict with the financial success of the game and the company’s management assumes all responsibility for it. The information was provided by Bloomberg based on the contents of an internal e-mail sent to editor Jason Schreier. According to him, the studio staff should have received a message on Friday that, regardless of mistakes, they will receive all the promised bonuses, which falls under the previously agreed condition that the game must be successful in reviews. According to Bloomberg, the bonus system will then be adjusted and in the future it will no longer depend on the aggregated score from the reviews on the Metacritic portal. “Originally, we had a bonus system linked to meeting the announced release date and rating the game in reviews. After considering it, however, we came to the conclusion that these metrics are not fair under the circumstances, “wrote studio manager Adam Badowski. “We underestimated the length and complexity of the development, yet you did everything you could [hráčům] delivered an ambitious and special game, “adds Badowski.
Bloomberg further explains that the bonus payment system was also linked to the monthly evaluation of individual studio staff, who were allegedly receiving coins with the company logo if they performed their duties particularly carefully. At least that’s what the three former and current developers who provided this information to Bloomberg claim. Unfortunately, this system was to have an impact on the overtime work that some employees resorted to with the prospect of receiving the coin for exemplary work. Just a lot of these tokens in fact, in the final, after the release of the game, it was to decide on the amount of the financial allowance to the current salary, which apparently did not lead to very healthy conditions in the workplace. After all, a lot of overtime was discussed in connection with the CD Project and the company was criticized several times for it. The last time was at the end of September, when Bloomberg also announced that employees would work beyond the usual working week one day on the weekend until the end of development.
We underestimated the length and complexity of the development, yet you did everything you could to deliver an ambitious and special game, says the head of the studio.
The latest information related to the success of Cyberpunk 2077 and financial matters is the unexpected fall of stocks. Already at the end of last week, probably in connection with the above-mentioned number of technical problems, the current share price, around 443 zlotys, fell by about a third to the level of 313 zlotys. This is not the only significant decline in recent times – already at the end of October, at that time with information about overtime work and another delay, the shares fell from 461 zlotys to about 330 zlotys, and with it fell the market value of the company from less than 10 billion EUR 7.2 billion. Nevertheless, Games Industry magazine, for example, believes that Cyberpunk 2077 will make it into the top ten best-selling games of all time and predicts that less than 30 million copies could eventually be sold.
