Octopus Overlords

CD Projekt's first-quarter results for fiscal year 2022 come with some interesting data about the sales performance of Cyberpunk 2077. During the first quarter, developer CD Projekt Red released a major updated for the game that improved its performance on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

That update (released on February 15) appears to be driving increased sales of console versions of the game.

This statistic comes from CD Projekt's investor presentation, which showed rough sales data from before and after the release of patch 1.5. Though the company didn't provide precise numbers, its report to investors was that not only did overall game sales increase, but console versions of the game are selling better than before the update

hepcat wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 12:52 pm Then I'm the most popular customer at Hooters!

Isgrimnur wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 2:02 pm

hepcat wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 12:52 pm Then I'm the most popular customer at Hooters!

They're still in therapy litigation over what you did to that poor beer tower.

hepcat wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 2:50 pm Oh...you guys....uh...you saw the...umm...security cam footage.

Max Peck wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 1:55 pm I don't recall them ever saying they were done with the IP, just that Geralt's story was finished. The initial teaser for the new game frames it as a new saga, so I expect that is still true.

Max Peck wrote:
Also, Cyberpunk had a rough launch but it hasn't really been a failure and it has seen a resurgence in sales this year following the 1.5 update.

Max Peck wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 10:28 pm They've done more with the IP than just the Witcher crpgs. There's also the adventure game, the Gwent games, a mobile game... I'm pretty sure that there was always going to be more stuff made with the Witcher IP no matter how Cyberpunk performed. You don't license an IP not to use it.

Rumpy wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 1:26 pm

Max Peck wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 10:28 pm They've done more with the IP than just the Witcher crpgs. There's also the adventure game, the Gwent games, a mobile game... I'm pretty sure that there was always going to be more stuff made with the Witcher IP no matter how Cyberpunk performed. You don't license an IP not to use it.

Sure, but that goes without saying. We were talking about the main games, which they were done with. The question was whether they'd ever do another major Witcher game, when they quite clearly set the sun on Geralt. They were hoping for Cyberpunk to net them similar profits, but the problems it was plagued with and the platforms it was not being sold on, combined with all the negative press likely signaled a return to something they could count on and get the public's confidence again. But I wouldn't be surprised if they don't want to be just known as 'the witcher developer'.

It's hard to compare the two games' first years since they cover different time periods, but Cyberpunk 2077 isn't trailing that far behind The Witcher 3. Sales of The Witcher 3 dropped about 55 percent from 2015 to 2016.

Cyberpunk 2077 did beat The Witcher 3's first year of sales (though again, hard to directly compare their time periods), but The Witcher 3's major success was becoming a long-term, year-over-year revenue machine for CD Projekt. Revenue from game sales would climb again in 2017 and 2019, the latter backed by the debut of the Netflix series based on the original Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Netflix is working on an anime directly inspired by Cyberpunk 2077, but it's unclear if it will have the same mass appeal as its Henry Cavill-starring cousin.

Kurth wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 2:57 pm

Rumpy wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 1:26 pm

Max Peck wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 10:28 pm They've done more with the IP than just the Witcher crpgs. There's also the adventure game, the Gwent games, a mobile game... I'm pretty sure that there was always going to be more stuff made with the Witcher IP no matter how Cyberpunk performed. You don't license an IP not to use it.

Sure, but that goes without saying. We were talking about the main games, which they were done with. The question was whether they'd ever do another major Witcher game, when they quite clearly set the sun on Geralt. They were hoping for Cyberpunk to net them similar profits, but the problems it was plagued with and the platforms it was not being sold on, combined with all the negative press likely signaled a return to something they could count on and get the public's confidence again. But I wouldn't be surprised if they don't want to be just known as 'the witcher developer'.

I’ll leave this alone after this post, too, but I did want to point out that Cyberpunk has, in fact, netted them similar profits compared to Witcher 3 if you look at the same time periods after launch:

CD Projekt Red is on an announcement spree at the moment. As well as a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel (opens in new tab) and plans to include multiplayer (opens in new tab) in upcoming releases, we've finally heard more about the future of The Witcher, and it's pretty packed.

Project Polaris is the codename for the next Witcher game. According to the image post on Twitter, the game will indeed be a "story-driven open-world RPG built on the legacy of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt." But that's not where this stops. It's the beginning of a new full Witcher trilogy of games and all three of these games in the trilogy will be released within a six-year period.

Project Polaris is only in pre-production right now so it'll be a while before the six years begins but in any case it's a very exciting time for Witcher fans. The subject matter is still yet to be revealed but CD Projekt Red have already shown us one detail that will be important to the story's plot—the school of Witcher the protagonist may be from.

CD Projekt Red is a busy bunny indeed. The studio has presented a Marvel-esque roadmap for its future game releases, and there are a ton of them on the way. We now know that there is going to be a full Cyberpunk 2077 sequel (opens in new tab), a new trilogy of Witcher games (opens in new tab), but that isn't all. CD Projekt also announced two more games inspired by the Witcher, but which will not be part of the current Geralt storyline.

The games, codenamed Canis Majoris and Sirius, are being developed by studios outside of the main CD Projekt Red team. Sirius is going to be developed by Molasses Flood, a studio acquired by CD Projekt, and will be set in The Witcher universe. The tweet announcing Sirius says, "It will differ from our past productions, offering multiplayer gameplay on top of a single-player experience including a campaign with quests and a story."

Canis Majoris sounds like it's more in line with the RPGs CD Projekt Red has previously set in The Witcher universe. The Twitter description calls it "a full-fledged Witcher game, separate to the new Witcher saga starting with Polaris" that "will be developed by an external studio headed by experienced developers who have worked on past Witcher games."

Blackhawk wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 8:47 am Or people who don't have high end systems. The performance was awful on 'just ok' systems.

Grifman wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 11:23 pm Ciri makes total sense but the anti-woke/DEI usual suspects are all up in arms about this.

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 11:43 pm

Grifman wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 11:23 pm Ciri makes total sense but the anti-woke/DEI usual suspects are all up in arms about this.

And the others are ranting because she looks older and weathered instead of like an 18 year old stripper.

Max Peck wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 3:15 pm Can't have a trailer without a video that explains the trailer. Apparently. This game is probably at least 2 or 3 years out (if you allow me to be wildly optimistic), so I hope they aren't going to build up too much hype too soon.

Anyway, here's Wonderwall the official breakdown of the trailer:

Grifman wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 11:23 pm Ciri makes total sense but the anti-woke/DEI usual suspects are all up in arms about this.

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 11:43 pm And the others are ranting because she looks older and weathered instead of like an 18 year old stripper.

Jolor wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2024 4:39 pm I wonder if being able to play a Ciri sequence in W3 was a hint for this game or more of a "people liked playing as Ciri; we should spin her off as the next main character".

Smoove_B wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2024 4:41 pm

Jolor wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2024 4:39 pm I wonder if being able to play a Ciri sequence in W3 was a hint for this game or more of a "people liked playing as Ciri; we should spin her off as the next main character".

I think it's a natural progression for the overall story of The Witcher - what's happening in the story world. Geralt was (and continues to be) an anachronism. It won't surprise me if Ciri's story is one that has her starting out as Witcher-y, but then finding her own path in the world as it continues to change.

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2024 9:55 pm Yes, but can we collect cards with naked pictures of all the people we sleep with?

Victoria Raverna wrote: Mon Dec 16, 2024 10:16 am Apparently those that were angry about the Netflix's show going to focus on Ciri also are angry that the Witcher 4 is going to be about Ciri.