The good news hasn’t stopped coming for CD PROJEKT RED. Not long after breaking numerous records, a report has revealed that the studio has already made its development expenditures and marketing costs back for Cyberpunk 2077.
Most games take months or even years to achieve that, but Cyberpunk 2077 did it at release. Sportskeeda estimates that the production budget was anywhere from around $175 to over $200 million, or even more due to the delays. CD PROJEKT RED also showed that you can muster significant physical sales with enough swag, as over a quarter of preorders were for physical copies.
— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) December 10, 2020
Another interesting dynamic is Cyberpunk 2077’s lack of DRM. Clearly, a game can be released without DRM and still be hugely profitable at launch despite piracy. Other publishers should take a closer look at CD PROJEKT RED’s approach, especially in light of what DRM can cost. Congratulations to the studio on its accomplishments!