CD Projekt RED’s stock price appears to have taken a hit in the run-up to Cyberpunk 2077‘s release. The developer reported the price dropped almost 30% from last week.
While most of the slip seems to have occurred before the game’s release yesterday, Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that even launch day saw a noticeable decline in the price. This news seems surprising, given the record breaking number of pre-orders which were reported. However, reports of serious bugs and design issues such as seizure inducing images experienced by early reviewers seems to have shaken investor confidence in the company, at least in the short term.
This is not the first time this year that the company has experienced significant drops in stock price. A similar drop in stock price occurred shortly after CD Projekt RED announced their Pokemon GO!-style AR game based off The Witcher. Another stock drop happened when the game was delayed to the December 10 release date amid reports of mandatory crunch.
And while these drops are a source of concern, the stock price has made up some of those losses in the intervening weeks. Bloomberg is forecasting that Cyberpunk 2077 is on track to beat Red Dead Redemption II‘s record of 17 million units sold in the first two weeks after release, but also points out that the company’s efforts to respond effectively to bugs could be a factor.
Food For Thought
Stock prices fluctuate, sometimes sharply in one direction or another. At present, this drop doesn’t sound particularly good, but it doesn’t mean the company is on the verge of insolvency. Nor does it mean that it’s suddenly vulnerable to being snapped up the same way that Microsoft bought up Bethesda. It’s likely that what we’re seeing here is more along the lines of a “course correction,” the market valuation of the company slowly stabilizing to a point where trades at a reasonably average price. Now that Cyberpunk 2077 is out, the likelihood for wild drops should diminish, though one should not overlook potential complications later on.
