Cyberpunk 2077 Disrupted CD Projekt Forward Momentum

Although Cyberpunk 2077 wasn’t a failure, Cyberpunk 2077 disrupted CD Projekt’s forward progress, forcing it to delay the Cyberpunk DLC in favor of patches and lower the value of its stock. However, we discovered last week that the atonement for the launch of Cyberpunk over the previous year was not a permanent reduction.

If anything, CD Projekt’s ambition has increased: the studio plans to create a Cyberpunk 2077 prequel, three new Witcher role-playing games within six years, a new game based in an entirely new world, and more.

Cyberpunk 2077 Disrupted CD Projekt

Marcin Iwiski, the joint CEO, also announced that he would be leaving the company and assuming a new position on the CD Projekt supervisory board. Naturally, rumors that CD Projekt would be an acquisition target followed these developments. According to one opinion, the company’s extremely ambitious strategy is either intended to entice major investors or to prevent a takeover by driving up the share price.

With all the game studio shopping that major corporations like Microsoft have been doing, it seems like anything is possible, but industry analyst Rhys Elliott, who works for gaming research company Newzoo, doesn’t believe CD Projekt’s ambitious roadmap justifies any quick judgments about its present or future ownership.

Elliott told PC Gamer that “extensive roadmaps are not always an indicator that a company is preparing for an acquisition, and we would not want to speculate about the potential of CD Projekt being purchased.”

Elliott claims that mid-sized developers frequently have aggressive internal roadmaps for estimating revenue and establishing deadlines. The way CD Projekt has announced these roadmaps to the public is unusual. Elliott believes the business recognized an opportunity to capitalize on its current situation after the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on Netflix.

Elliot claims that if CD Projekt had made this roadmap public before resolving Cyberpunk 2077, there would have been a backlash from the public and investors, further lowering the company’s reputation.

“CD Projekt hopes to capitalize on the growingly positive public perception of the brand to entirely reverse the negative narrative. The announcements received a favorable response from the stock market as well.”

Over the past month, the share price of CD Projekt has increased by around 28%. Elliott believes that the announcement of a non-licensed game—one that CD Projekt would entirely own, unlike the Cyberpunk and Witcher games—as well as the earlier-this-year report that CD Projekt is converting to Unreal Engine 5 were particularly well-received by investors.

According to Elliott, “The corporation wants everyone to know it has learned from its mistakes, is focusing more on its most effective techniques, and has a ton of projects in the works.” Investors will find this to be music to their ears.

David Cole of DFC Intelligence, another expert, shared a similar viewpoint.

According to Cole, it appears that the statement was made to reassure current and future investors that there are a lot of exciting things in the works.

But may any of those possible backers have their sights set on a majority stake in the business? Elliott did point out that Savvy Games Group and Tencent have both stated their desire to make significant acquisitions in Europe.

Saudi Arabian-funded Savvy Games Group expressly stated that it was interested in investing $13 billion in a “major game publisher.

Despite the possibility that the fund is planning many purchases, CD Projekt wouldn’t cost $13 billion. It’s not difficult to picture CD Projekt working under the Xbox brand instead, being welcomed by Embracer, or joining the Sony studio family, but none of these possibilities are even mentioned in the stories we’ve heard.

The only recent information on the subject comes from the other joint CEO, Adam Kiciski, who stated in an interview with 2021 “We have been repeating for years that we aim to remain independent and do not plan to become part of a larger corporation.”

We aren’t ruling anything out because we didn’t see Microsoft’s acquisitions of Bethesda or Activision Blizzard coming, but the experts don’t believe that a slew of game announcements is sufficient evidence. The only other sources of speculative fuel are CD Projekt’s poor share price (which is up temporarily but has decreased since 2020) and the recent spate of acquisitions of gaming companies.

Marcin Iwiski, the departing co-CEO, is currently CD Projekt’s largest stakeholder, holding 12.78% of the business. The other CEO, Adam Kiciski, controls 4.02%. Piotr Nielubowicz and Michal Kiciski are the other two significant private owners. 66.04% of the remaining shares are traded publicly.

Conclusion

The ambitious roadmap for CD Projekt encourages takeover rumors. Within six years, the studio intends to release three new Witcher role-playing games as well as a prequel to Cyberpunk 2077. The company’s joint CEO, Marcin Iwiski, also made his departure known. CD Projekt’s stock price has increased by almost 28%. Elliott thinks that when a non-licensed game is announced, investors will rejoice.

Both Tencent and Savvy Games Group have expressed a willingness to make significant purchases. Unreal Engine 5 is being adopted by the business. When focusing on the main objectives, Cyberpunk 2077 lasts about 2312 hours. The length of the major plot is around 25 to 30 hours. 

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