Cyberpunk 2077 Issues Lead to $1 Billion Loss for Founders

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Cyberpunk 2077's post-launch woes have had a significant impact on developer CD Projekt Red's stock, and its led to a billion-dollar loss for the company's four founders. According to Bloomberg, Marcin Iwinski, Adam Kicinski, Piotr Nielubowicz, and Michal Kicinski collectively own 34% of CD Projekt Red. Their stake in the company is now worth $3 billion, following a bug-filled launch, and accusations that the company intentionally misled those purchasing the game on consoles. Negative reception to the game has also resulted in CD Projekt Red cutting its sales estimates for the game, from 30 million to 25.6 million copies.

It will be interesting to see what impact post-launch patches and improvements might have on the game's perception. Cyberpunk 2077 is hardly the first game to release with major issues, and publishers have been able to change that perception, with a strong amount of effort. Star Wars: Battlefront II released to heavy criticism when players discovered that lootboxes gave players with deeper pockets a heavier advantage. EA instituted changes following heavy criticism, and the game ended up becoming a fan favorite, over time.

It remains to be seen whether or not CD Projket Red will be able to similarly improve perceptions surrounding Cyberpunk 2077. It's clear that the version available on PlayStation and Xbox platforms is a far cry from the one released on PC, but it seems that the company will be working to improve that over the next several months. The game has clearly had a negative impact on the company's perception, but it's not too late to turn things around. If there's enough will from the company to fix things, perhaps the narrative surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 will shift.

CD Projekt Red has become one of the biggest video game companies in Europe, and the company developed a strong reputation in a relatively short amount of time. Unfortunately, a lot of that has been significantly damaged over the last week. If the company's founders truly want to turn things around, they will have to work towards rebuilding the trust of gamers.

Cyberpunk 2077 is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Google Stadia.



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Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/cyberpunk-2077-billion-dollar-loss-for-founders/

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"Cyberpunk 2077 Issues Lead to $1 Billion Loss for Founders" :: Login/Create an Account :: 8 comments

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MrParkerPosted:

Damn 1 billion lol and they still in profits lmao imagine...

tO0tPosted:

THQ Gta 5 had its share of problems at the start so there is still a shot, but I think the hype is what will be the death of this game. Heard so much about it for years but never even cared to know what it was about because when a game keeps delaying as this one has and keeps building more and more hype it very rarely lives up to it. I think of watch dogs in this scenario


Lived up to expectations for me personally, Mind you I didn't try to play it on 8 year old hardware LMAO.
This is the best game released this year hands down.

LukeGPosted:

I hope they manage to fix this really it has potential and its not the first game to have bugs on release is it?

322Posted:

They didn't lose 1 billion at all. Their stock price tanked. Its a vastly different thing. It was perhaps over valued based on the game but it will go up once they release their quarterly earning. Just a knee jerk reaction.
They have a lot more value in the company than just developing games. They still easily made a profit on the game and they would definitely be considering it a massive financial success.

THQPosted:

Gta 5 had its share of problems at the start so there is still a shot, but I think the hype is what will be the death of this game. Heard so much about it for years but never even cared to know what it was about because when a game keeps delaying as this one has and keeps building more and more hype it very rarely lives up to it. I think of watch dogs in this scenario

OPPosted:

Guess this goes to show you should make sure a game is ready for all platforms before putting out. Especially if you already postponed it so many times.

Golden9999Posted:

If they're giving out refunds, they might aswell lose out and make the game free then then everyone will be happy.

OGTrey079Posted:

they brought this upon themselves lol