Maybe it was an understatement when we said it Cyberpunk had his First “Nice day” when it crept to the top of the Steam charts earlier this year. As it turns out, the battered RPG, which has received a number of updates since its launch in the dumpster, has been quietly roaming around on at least one storefront throughout 2021.
On Monday, PC giant Valve has released a bunch of juicy pieces of information about what went well on their popular platform. There’s a lot in there that you wouldn’t expect, at least in comparison to popular media and community narratives. Battlefield 2042 still sells very well little hypebut maybe I should expect that if it has such a pervasive ad campaign that it has now replaced my nightly paralysis demon. Amazon MMO New world, Valheim, and Naraka: Blade tip, are also some nice, brand new entries in the top seller list. Then you have the mandatory inclusions, like Dota 2 and the completely undead GTA V.
Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t get the “Platinum” rating these games are in, but it did appear a stone’s throw down on the “Silver” tier where games like Resident Evil Village Live. It is noteworthy that “top seller” does not refer to the number of copies, but rather to sales, which takes into account copies as well as in-game transactions and DLC. A game like Cyberpunk, which is single player and not yet offering microtransactions or DLC, is likely to have a hard time holding its own against games that offer strong online experiences. Many of these multiplayer games have completely different business models, and They don’t have all that other stuff that weighs them down.
In any case, 2021 was an uphill battle for Cyberpunk and its developers. Remember CD Projekt Red started the year with Cyberpunk 2077 still delisted from the PlayStation Store due to its harsh condition, and on top of it all a huge vulnerability where the game’s source code was seen to be detained for ransom. Updates were distributed over the course of the year, and promises continue to be made for next-gen versions, DLC, and other updates – but also reports of what appear to be cracks. And even if some things were cleared up, like the eventual return to PSN, not everything was happy: in this case Sony warned users that the game is still janky.
We now know that in spite of everything the game was profitable for the studio from the start due to the sheer number of hype-based pre-orders and the like. What you wouldn’t necessarily expect is that money to keep also seep in after all the headlines and glitch compilations. Granted, the game has indeed recruited some passionate evangelists who, for all its flaws, love it, or perhaps saw no flaws when played on a sufficiently powerful machine. Yes, the game has received tons of bug fixes, but there are still many reports of technical issues. You’re not seeing a Nobody’s heaven Enter the turn here. And yet!
The money that comes in has to mean people right? While it was a little further down the list on the $ front, it killed on the raw time front. It is under the “Over 200,000 Concurrent Players in the Top” category, a category that excludes anything whose numbers have been juiced up due to things like, say, a weekend off.
Obviously, this is just one platform out of a handful, and precisely the one that Cyberpunk‘s core fan base lies: After all, this base emerged from GOG, CD Projekt Red’s own PC shop window. Still, 2022 might be a less quiet year for developers: free next-gen upgrades will give those who haven’t requested a refund an excuse to take a second look, and everyone else could be seduced by the DLC if they got theirs play cards right. Cyberpunk 2077 is available on Steam for a 50% discount at the ATM if all of this piques your interest. For my part, I will keep waiting.
Anyway, if you want to read more about it What went well on Steam in 2021, check out the full route here. Fun fact: November saw most of the completely new top sellers.
Correction 4:33 p.m.: The order of appearance is randomized, but cyberpunk still made the over 200,000 simultaneous ones perform.
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