CD Projekt Looks for Bounceback in 2022

CD Projekt seeks to retool in early 2022 after third-quarter earnings showed stumbles from a bungled release of a major title.

The company brought in $34.8 million in the quarter, up 38% year-over-year but well under the $65.8 million from the previous quarter.

Net profits dropped 30% year-over-year to $3.9 million in Q3.

Released in December 2020, CD Projekt’s “Cyberpunk 2077” was panned as glitchy. Sony temporarily removed the game from its PlayStation store amid customer complaints. 

The stumble puts additional pressure on the company’s major releases scheduled for next year.

• The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of “Cyberpunk 2077” and “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” are due for release in the first and second quarters of 2022, respectively.
• Both were initially planned for this year.
• Much of the growth in the company’s expenses was related to depreciation and service costs for “Cyberpunk 2077.” 

The game is seeing a bounceback in popularity after a 50% price cut on Steam and the PlayStation and Xbox stores. It was the third-best-selling game on Steam for the week ending Nov. 28.

CD Projekt made two significant acquisitions this year, buying studios Digital Scapes in March and The Molasses Flood in October.