Is Cyberpunk 2077 Hit or Flop? A Passionate Gamer‘s Perspective

As an avid gamer who has followed Cyberpunk 2077‘s journey closely since its announcement in 2012, I can definitively say no—Cyberpunk 2077 is no flop.

Despite undoubtedly botching the launch in late 2020 with game-breaking bugs and performance issues (especially on consoles), the core of Cyberpunk 2077 always showed promise. Fast forward to late 2022, and Cyberpunk has staged an impressive comeback thanks to CD Projekt Red‘s extensive patches and post-launch support.

By The Numbers: Cyberpunk‘s Massive Commercial Success

While the problematic launch state prompted temporary removal from PlayStation Store and a wave of refunds, Cyberpunk 2077 has still sold a staggering 18 million copies as of December 2022 according to CD Projekt Red.

To put those sales in perspective, that puts Cyberpunk among the top 25 best-selling video games of all time.

With over $1 billion in revenue generated already, Cyberpunk 2077 has already recouped its estimated $316 million development and marketing budgets despite all the issues. So purely on a commercial level, it‘s impossible to call Cyberpunk a flop.

Cyberpunk 2077 Player Count at All Time High in 2024

While exact concurrent player numbers are hard to pinpoint as Cyberpunk 2077 is available on multiple PC and console platforms, Steam Charts provides a snapshot of engagement on PC.

Cyberpunk 2077 hit an all-time high of 1 million concurrent Steam players in September 2022 following the Netflix premiere of its anime spin-off Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

To sustain those numbers, Cyberpunk 2077 averaged over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam through January 2023.

For comparison, these player counts put Cyberpunk 2077 right alongside established franchises like Grand Theft Auto V and vastly exceed recent single-player critical darlings like God of War (2018‘s peak was 73k players).

All signs point to Cyberpunk having incredible player retention and engagement given the game is now over 2 years old.

Recent Reviews & Reception Showcase Strengths

While early reception and reviews following its disastrous launch were justifiably negative, recent reviews tell a completely different story:

• Cyberpunk 2077‘s recent reviews on Steam are Overwhelmingly Positive (92%) with over 147,000 reviews
• 55 of the last 60 critic reviews on OpenCritic are positive, including multiple 90+ scores
• Major publications like IGN, which originally scored Cyberpunk a 7/10, have retroactively increased scores to 9/10

This stark turnaround reflects Cyberpunk 2077 becoming an excellent game following years of patches and updates. It also showcases the game‘s technical shortcomings initially overshadowing its unique dense open world, compelling characters/storytelling, and excellent mission design.

Broader Impacts: A Sobering Lesson for the Industry

There‘s no question Cyberpunk 2077‘s monstrously bungled launch came with consequences beyond just short-term revenue and reception. At one point, CD Projekt Red‘s stock dropped a staggering 75% from its pre-launch peak pricing in. Developing such an ambitious game for 9 platforms clearly led to unacceptable technical compromises.

However, many of those worst case scenarios have softened over time:

• Player trust in CD Projekt Red does seem to be rebounding based on re-engagement
• Planned Cyberpunk expansions and next Witcher game indicates continued publisher investment
• Multiplatform development issues led to abandoning PlayStation 4/Xbox One for the upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion to optimize for modern hardware

The saga serves as an important lesson to the industry on the dangers of overpromising features and release windows. But Cyberpunk‘s more recent success highlights that providing strong post-launch support to realize a game‘s potential does pay dividends in winning back players.

What Does the Future Hold for Cyberpunk 2077?

With patches and updates still rolling out consistently 2+ years after launch and major story expansions still planned, CD Projekt Red remains fully committed to building on Cyberpunk 2077‘s vast potential.

The upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion is slated to launch in 2024, with other expansions still rumored to be in development. Each one will provide exciting new stories, characters, gear, and customization options.

For any gamers still on the fence about diving into Night City, I strongly recommend giving Cyberpunk 2077 a chance in 2024. The sheer density, customization, and reactivity across its districts, gangs, missions, and gear builds lead to an incredibly unique open world cyberpunk experience.

So in summary: while the launch state of Cyberpunk 2077 may have been a catastrophe, its current state is anything but a flop. For fans of compelling open world RPG sandboxes, I firmly believe Cyberpunk 2077 stands right up there with genre greats like Skyrim and The Witcher 3. Night City has truly bounced back and remains one of gaming‘s most vibrant digital metropolises.