To end a fantastic two weeks for Cyberpunk 2077, developer CD Projekt Red has shared that the game has reached a very impressive 20 million copies sold since release. Cyberpunk 2077 has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to an incredibly well-received anime show on Netflix and word of mouth from fans discovering a much less buggy Night City.At this point, Cyberpunk’s reputation at launch is well documented. The game had a solid base of RPG mechanics and combat but was almost constantly buggy and ran very poorly on last-gen consoles. However, in the two years since Cyberpunk 2077 launched, CD Projekt Red has been hard at work, improving the game with frequent, sizable patches and graphical upgrades for current-gen consoles. One of the most significant patches for the game, Update 1.6, lined up with the release of the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime on Netflix and created a perfect storm of renewed interest in the franchise. The big 1.6 update, coupled with the anime and a well-timed 50% discount across multiple storefronts, all contributed to Cyberpunk 2077 exploding in popularity throughout September.From September 13 to September 27, Cyberpunk 2077 cracked the top 10 bestsellers list on Steam and only climbed higher as the days progressed. The game even briefly took the number one spot from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 while that game was hosting its beta testing session on PC last weekend. Outside of PC, Cyberpunk 2077 was also doing very well for itself. Enough players were flooding the game that CD Projekt Red issued a special thanks to the fans for having over 1 million players visiting Night City every day of the week across all platforms. The goodwill and renewed excitement around the franchise has paid off as the official Cyberpunk Twitter account has excitedly announced that the game has passed 20 million copies sold, which is 7 million more copies than when Cyberpunk launched in 2020.
Despite Cyberpunk 2077 taking a victory lap as fans discover or rediscover Night City, the game still has plenty left in the tank. CD Projekt Red has stated that the much-requested police and vehicular combat fixes are on the way; however, the game’s most significant milestone is yet to come in the form of the Phantom Liberty DLC. No longer tethered to the limitations of last-gen consoles, Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion has the potential to capitalize upon the goodwill garnered in recent weeks and deliver something polished and realized at launch.
Whether or not the studio decides to return to Cyberpunk after its only planned expansion remains to be seen. CD Projekt Red states that it will shift its focus to the next installment of the Witcher franchise afterward, but it seems like the interest and opportunity for more Cyberpunk 2077 content is there, or even the space for another game. A single-player game rarely has a comeback story similar to Final Fantasy 14 or No Man’s Sky, and the enthusiasm around Edgerunners proves that fans are ready and excited to see more from this universe.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.