Polish video game firm CD Projekt happy with orders for Cyberpunk add-on
Poland's leading video game producer CD Projekt has expressed its satisfaction with pre-orders for Phantom Liberty, an add-on to its blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077.
The Warsaw-based company has become one of the leading names in the gaming world, gaining international recognition with its 'The Witcher' game franchise.
But in recent quarters it has been plagued with teething problems surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, and in July it announced it would lay off 100 employees.
"After two months from the start of pre-sales, we are very satisfied with to-date pre-orders of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, but most pre-orders will happen (just – PAP) before the release at end-Q3," CEO Adam Kicinski told an analyst teleconference late on Wednesday.
Accelerated pre-sales will have a significant impact on Q3 results, Michal Nowakowski, a company board member, also said.
Phantom Liberty, the expansion to Cyberpunk 2077, is due out on September 26, and has been subject to an extensive marketing campaign that reflects just how important Cyberpunk, and The Witcher, has become for the Warsaw firm.
"Cyberpunk 2077 and the The Witcher 3 accounted for the largest share in the company's sales, with the latter exceeding 50 million in sold copies in May since it premiered in 2015," Piotr Nielubowicz, Projekt's CFO, said on Wednesday.
He added that in the first half of the year the company had spent over PLN 160 million (EUR 35.7 mln) on preparatory works related to new products related to Cyberpunk and The Witcher.
"In the coming years the studio intends to release a number of games within The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 franchises, as well as to carry out internal development work on its third proprietary IP codenamed Hadar," CD Projekt said in a comment attached to a financial report.
The company posted PLN 21.6 million (EUR 4.8 mln) in Q2 attributable net profit, according to the report, slightly above market expectations for a PLN 21.1 million (EUR 4.72 mln) net take and 51.8 percent below the net result in Q2 2022.
