CD Projekt RED has quite a lot riding on Cyberpunk 2077, which releases in April 2020. However, sales for the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still “remain strong.” While looking back on the first half of 2019 in a recent financial report, the studio noted that sales for the title were higher than the first half of 2018 (via Dom on Twitter).
CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said, “Our financial result for the first half of the year was again mainly affected by sales of The Witcher 3, which remain strong. This further confirms our belief that investing in top-quality games pays off, and that such games may continue to sell well for many years. In the first half of 2019 gamers actually purchased more copies of The Witcher 3 than during the first half of the previous year!”
And though the focus is currently on Cyberpunk 2077, Nielubowicz mentioned the company’s dual-franchise model, hinting that The Witcher could return at some point. “Managing two separate major franchises (The Witcher and Cyberpunk), along with several independent development teams, enables the Company to conduct parallel work on several projects and smoothens its long-term release schedule. This migration towards a dual-franchise model supported by several independent product lines also permits optimization of manufacturing and financial activities, mitigates important risk factors and makes it easier for Company employees to seek professional fulfillment.”
Of course, this also hints at Cyberpunk 2077 forming the basis for its own series down the line but that’s a ways off. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be coming to Nintendo Switch on October 15th. As the Complete Edition, it includes the base game and its two expansions – Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Cyberpunk 2077 is out on April 16th 2020 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC with new live-stream of gameplay scheduled for tonight.