Cyberpunk fiasco is going to make gaming more expensive
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Cyberpunk fiasco is going to make gaming more expensive

Panorama

Alex Webb, Bloomberg
20 December, 2020, 03:00 pm
Last modified: 20 December, 2020, 03:18 pm

Related News

  • NFTs in video games bring laundered money and angry players
  • The video game of 2022 so far: 'Norco,' a masterpiece of storytelling
  • Crypto and gaming collide in high-risk 'play-to-earn' economies
  • Elden Ring: A Grand and Spectacular Soul’s Journey
  • ‘Dying Light 2: Stay Human’ is both beauty and beast

Cyberpunk fiasco is going to make gaming more expensive

When big releases go wrong, they go really wrong. Video game makers need more predictable income that comes from add-on services

Alex Webb, Bloomberg
20 December, 2020, 03:00 pm
Last modified: 20 December, 2020, 03:18 pm
The much-hyped game starring Keanu Reeves has quickly turned into a shamble. Photo: Collected
The much-hyped game starring Keanu Reeves has quickly turned into a shamble. Photo: Collected

Buying a video game these days often feels like flying with a budget airline. By the time you take into account expansion packs, loot boxes and online gaming fees, a game's sticker price can end up being just a fraction of the ultimate cost.

That's why game maker CD Projekt SA found a special place in the hearts of gaming enthusiasts. Unlike giant rivals Electronic Arts Inc., Activision Blizzard Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the Warsaw-based studio made most of its money the old-fashioned way: selling a game that you can fully enjoy without having to keep spending on it.

The strategy helped make its "The Witcher" series a hit — and get adapted into a Netflix show. Over the past five years, the Polish company's shares jumped 1,800%.

Now the approach seems to have come unstuck.

The stock's surge had also been driven by the breathless anticipation for "Cyberpunk 2077," an action role-playing game starring Keanu Reeves that had secured eight million pre-orders. Released last week, players assume the role of an urban mercenary whose abilities are augmented by cyberware implants. But "Cyberpunk" has been beset by poor user reviews and technical glitches, particularly on Sony Corp.'s Playstation console and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox.

The extent of the problems prompted Sony to pull the game from its online store on Friday. CD Projekt shares fell as much as 22% on the news, extending the decline that investors have endured since Dec. 4. The company is now valued at 25 billion zlotys ($6.8 billion).

It's a tough pill for gamers and shareholders alike to swallow. "Cyberpunk" was supposed to form the basis for new online services that could bring more predictable revenue. Such services currently account for just 8% of CD Projekt's annual sales, which had been expected to jump more than fourfold to 2.8 billion zlotys this year. At EA, live services account for 51% of sales, while game purchases are less than 40%, giving the Redwood City, California-based giant more of a cushion should it mess up new title releases.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Kanterman estimates it will take CD Projekt three to six months to fix the snafus. Keeping its developers occupied with that could push back the rollout of live services and the recurring revenue they promise.

Unfortunately for gamers, the experience highlights why it's important for studios to beef up those add-on offerings. If a new release goes wrong and fewer people end up buying the game, that has a bigger impact on earnings if the studio doesn't have reliable income from live services. CD Projekt's foul-up of "Cyberpunk 2077" means gaming investors won't have much patience for the more straightforward sales strategy again.

Going the budget airline route and totting up additional costs is more likely to keep a studio flying high.


With assistance from Lionel Laurent.


Disclaimer: This article first appeared on Bloomberg, and is published by special syndication arrangement

Features / Top News / Game Reviews

Cyberpunk / Gaming / Video games / video game / Video game makers / Gaming fees

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Infographic: TBS
    Tough conditions get in way of Indian wheat import
  • Zahid Hussain/TBS Sketch
    Our problematic macroeconomic duo
  • US growth seen outpacing China’s for first time since 1976
    US growth seen outpacing China’s for first time since 1976

MOST VIEWED

  • Mohammad (Mejbah) Mejbahuddin, Former Senior Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh. TBS Sketch
    ‘No project is being delayed too long at the moment’
  • Dr Shamsul Hoque, Professor, Civil Engineering, BUET. TBS Sketch
    ‘Planning commission only in the name, there are no planners’ 
  • Masrur Reaz. TBS Sketch
    ‘To ensure accountability, contract financing should be based on ‘performance based payments’
  • Photo caption: In the case of Sweden and Finland, the tipping point was clearly an altered view of Russian intentions and their willingness “to use violence.” Photo: Reuters
    What are Sweden and Finland thinking?
  • Professor Mustafizur Rahman. Illustration: TBS
    Project delays and escalating costs are driven by frequent revisions and lack of good governance
  • Photo: Mumit M/TBS
    What delays infrastructure projects in Bangladesh?

Related News

  • NFTs in video games bring laundered money and angry players
  • The video game of 2022 so far: 'Norco,' a masterpiece of storytelling
  • Crypto and gaming collide in high-risk 'play-to-earn' economies
  • Elden Ring: A Grand and Spectacular Soul’s Journey
  • ‘Dying Light 2: Stay Human’ is both beauty and beast

Features

Mohammad (Mejbah) Mejbahuddin, Former Senior Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh. TBS Sketch

‘No project is being delayed too long at the moment’

13h | Panorama
Dr Shamsul Hoque, Professor, Civil Engineering, BUET. TBS Sketch

‘Planning commission only in the name, there are no planners’ 

13h | Panorama
Masrur Reaz. TBS Sketch

‘To ensure accountability, contract financing should be based on ‘performance based payments’

13h | Panorama
Professor Mustafizur Rahman. Illustration: TBS

Project delays and escalating costs are driven by frequent revisions and lack of good governance

16h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Ways to retain body fragrance

Ways to retain body fragrance

14h | Videos
Gazipur restaurant that serves 150 food items

Gazipur restaurant that serves 150 food items

18h | Videos
How to prepare for a job

How to prepare for a job

19h | Videos
Putin's strategies to face Nato

Putin's strategies to face Nato

1d | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter
Industry

The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter

4
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

5
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

6
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab