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Dec 23 (Reuters) – Polish video game maker CD Projekt SA said it sold more than 13 million copies of its Cyberpunk 2077 game through Dec. 20, below analysts’ forecast, hurt in part by required refunds. by players who complained that it was riddled with bugs. .
Cyberpunk 2077, a futuristic role-playing game with Hollywood star Keanu Reeves, was considered one of the biggest releases of this year.
“This figure represents the estimated retail sales volume across all hardware platforms (taking returns into account),” said CD Projekt.
The company had not provided sales forecasts and did not disclose how many redemption requests it had received, but sales fell short of market expectations of 16.4 million, said analyst Piotr Bogusz at brokerage mBank.
“While the number ranks Cyberpunk as one of the best-selling titles this year, it implies lower PC sales or higher rebates on consoles than we anticipated after launch, likely due to various bugs and PC performance issues that not high-yielding, “Jefferies analysts said in a note.
The game, released on December 10, got off to a rocky start after a backlash over technical glitches prompted Sony Corp to remove it from its PlayStation Store and Xbox maker Microsoft Corp to offer refunds.
The game’s troubled launch caused CD Projekt’s stock to drop 40% from a record hit before its launch.
The shares fell 5% at 0805 GMT on Wednesday, after opening higher. (Report by Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; edited by Christopher Cushing and Jason Neely)
