The fact the costs for developing a game have become astronomically high is no secret to anyone, though specific details on a game’s development budget aren’t usually something that developers and publishers share too often, CD Projekt RED has, however, taken a different approach in the past, and has now also confirmed how much it cost to make and market the recent released Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, Phantom Liberty.
The company has revealed that the development costs for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty were 275 million PLN (which is about $62.8 million), while marketing costs for the title stood at an addition 95 million PLN (roughly $21.7 million). In total, the game’s budget stands at 370 million PLN, which translates to about $84.6 million.
In total, over 3,600 people were involved in the game’s production in different capacities, out of which about 360 were core development staff.
In comparison, CD Projekt RED revealed in 2021 that the development budget for the Cyberpunk 2077 base game was around $316 million, with over 5,200 people working on it, out of which about 530 were part of the core development staff.
The next Cyberpunk game, codenamed Project Orion, is set to be developed by CD Projekt RED’s newly-established North American wing, and will have core development team of about 350-500 people.
CD Projekt RED has also announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has now sold over 25 million units worldwide, while Phantom Liberty sold over 3 million units in its first week.
In our review of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, we awarded it a score of 9/10, saying, “Phantom Liberty is what Cyberpunk 2077 should have been three years ago. It’s an incredible expansion that boasts a gripping story, compelling characters, engaging moment-to-moment gameplay, and significantly improved progression mechanics. It’s so good that it uplifts all of Cyberpunk 2077, finally making good on the lofty promises CD Projekt RED made for the base game all those years ago.” Read the full review through here.
You can also read our re-review of Cyberpunk 2077 following the release of Update 2.0 through here.