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Cyberpunk 2077 may have had plenty of problems when it saw release at the tail end of 2020, but none of that stopped it from becoming the biggest digital game launch of all time. This may not come as much of a surprise to man, as Cyberpunk 2077 built up one of the biggest hype campaigns of the last decade. Announced years before developer CD Projekt Red's previous game The Witcher 3 released, many were eager to see how the gameplay and well-crafted storytelling of The Witcher would translate to a futuristic landscape. Unfortunately, the game ended up far more disappointing than the team's past work.

Cyberpunk 2077 was plagued with many problems when it released in December 2020, especially its Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions. On those systems, the game was viewed as unplayable, forcing platform holders to extend their usually refund policies. Sony even pulled the game from the PlayStation storefront, citing that the experience was unsatisfactory for customers. The game has not returned to the store at the time of writing, making the fact that Cyberpunk is the top dog in terms of digital sales all the more impressive.

As reported by Nielsen-owned Superdata, CD Projekt Red's sci-fi open-world game sold well over 10 million units digitally in its launch month, surpassing any previous game launch in the history of digital sales. In its launch month, digital sales on PC spiked up 40%, and the firm attributes that jump largely to this unprecedented level of success. Cyberpunk 2077 was the top-grossing title for December on PC but ranked third on console, being surpassed there by Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and NBA 2K21. Cyberpunk 2077 did manage to pull ahead of Grand Theft Auto V on console for the month, which is no small feat considering that title's lasting popularity.


It's worth noting that all these figures do include copies of the game that were refunded following Cyberpunk 2077's launch controversy. However, SuperData holds that the refunds did not significantly alter these results, implying that many more people bought and kept the game than refunded it despite the process being made easier. This would not have affected the PC chart much at all, as that version has been well-received across the board outside of its somewhat expected level of open-world jank. It will be interesting to see if there's a significant drop off in January's charts as it continues to receive updates and the discussion surrounding the title continues to shift.

Really, there was no doubt that Cyberpunk 2077 would break records whenever it ended up launching. Now that the dust has settled, players and pundits have been left to wonder if the game will suffer the same fate as fellow rushed AAA laughing stocks Anthem or Marvel's Avengers, which each were forgotten within months of launch. So far, though, the more likely scenario is that players patient with CD Projekt Red will stick around for the continued online meme culture surrounding the game and still-unabated excitement for its patches, free DLC, and planned expansions. None of The Witcher games launched without problems, and it's likely that Cyberpunk will get close to the same level of experience if given the time to grow away from the spotlight.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PS4 (retail-only), Xbox One, Stadia, and PC, and it will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.