Cyberpunk 2077 was just delayed out of a very busy April game release period, and it will now launch just before the new Xbox Series X and PS5 hit shelves. It’s shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the year, and according to veteran analyst Michael Pachter, it could break 15 million copies sold.
Answering a question on his show Pachter Factor regarding the best-selling games of 2020, Pachter — who Digital Trends previously interviewed for a feature on GameStop — said that Cyberpunk 2077 will likely sell around 15 million units total. This number could be higher, potentially up to 18 million units, but this would likely put it behind this year’s Call of Duty and FIFA installments.
“Can Cyberpunk topple FIFA or Call of Duty? Sure,” Pachter added. “If Cyberpunk gets a 97 [Metacritic] review score, it could sell 30 [million.]”
It will be interesting to see if the recent success of The Witcher on Netflix, and the resurgence in popularity for The Witcher III game, will translate into buzz for Cyberpunk 2077. It’s the first game CD Projekt Red has made outside of the Witcher universe, and was met with overwhelming acclaim upon its full reveal during E3 2019. Keanu Reeves’ surprise appearance certainly helped with that. Reeves will play a companion in the game, and was featured in its announcement trailer.
CD Projekt Red has also found itself in hot water recently, however, after CEO Adam Kiciński admitted that the development staff would have to “crunch” in order to release the game at its new date. This is despite claims CD Projekt Red previously saying that it had committed to avoiding crunch in 2019. The practice, which involves working upwards of 80 or even 100 hours in a week to complete a game’s development, has been heavily criticized in recent years, particularly after it was seemingly glorified by Rockstar Games in the lead-up to Red Dead Redemption II‘s launch.
Cyberpunk 2077 will launch on September 17 for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Google Stadia. CD Projekt Red is not currently planning versions for the next-generation consoles. We anticipate that changing, although it may not happen by the time they launch.
