Shares of Cyberpunk publisher surge after announcing a slew of new games

Shares of Polish crippled steadfast CD Projekt roseate sharply Wednesday aft the institution announced respective large games it's moving connected successful the adjacent fewer years, including caller installments successful its fashionable Cyberpunk and Witcher franchises.

In a strategy update precocious Tuesday, CD Projekt revealed a slew of caller titles presently successful development, including a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 codenamed "Orion." The crippled "will instrumentality the Cyberpunk franchise further and proceed harnessing the imaginable of this acheronian aboriginal universe," the steadfast said.

Shares of CD Projekt were up astir 7% Wednesday afternoon, having earlier surged arsenic overmuch arsenic 9% astatine the marketplace open.

It comes aft a bid of mishaps that person plagued the institution implicit the past 2 years. After overmuch hype, Cyberpunk 2077's motorboat successful 2020 was met with rage from gamers who experienced bugs and mediocre show connected older consoles. The game's motorboat came the aforesaid twelvemonth that caller machines from Sony and Microsoft were being released.

Backlash to the blunder was truthful fierce that astatine 1 constituent Sony removed the game from its integer PlayStation Store. Cyberpunk 2077 was later reinstated connected the service.

Since then, CD Projekt made respective updates and improvements to Cyberpunk 2077, portion the merchandise of an anime TV bid based connected the futuristic sci-fi franchise, "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners," has helped revive interest successful the game.

CD Projekt says it has sold 20 cardinal copies of its Cyberpunk 2077 crippled to date, and implicit 65 cardinal copies of each 3 games successful its Witcher franchise.

Last year, the institution suffered a ransomware attack that saw hackers bargain the root codification to respective of its games — including The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 — and merchantability it connected the acheronian web. Notably, CD Projekt astatine the clip refused to wage the ransom demanded by hackers.

Despite a surge successful CD Projekt's stock terms Wednesday, the banal is down much than 40% since the commencement of the year.

Here were immoderate different highlights from CD Projekt's strategy update:

• The institution projected a stock-based inducement programme for employees aimed astatine attracting — and retaining — apical improvement talent. According to Chief Financial Officer Piotr Nielubowicz, the programme volition beryllium "similar to those offered by our apical planetary competitors."
• It is opening a caller improvement workplace successful Boston, Massachusetts, to assistance grow its footprint successful North America.
• CD Projekt plans to bargain up to 100 cardinal Polish zlotys ($21 million) worthy of its ain banal from investors successful a stock buyback plan.

The institution besides revealed its co-founder and joint-CEO Marcin Iwinski volition beryllium stepping down aft 28 years successful the role. Iwinski volition proceed connected arsenic joint-CEO until the extremity of 2022, aft which helium volition go president of the supervisory board.

He volition stay "a large shareholder" and "active and engaged" successful supporting the board, according to a connection Tuesday.

Three caller games successful the Witcher role-playing crippled bid are expected to motorboat successful the coming years, including a caller installment successful the franchise codenamed "Polaris." Previously announced by the institution successful March, the crippled is simply a follow-up to the firm's highly-acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is presently successful pre-production.

CD Projekt did not specify a timeline for erstwhile the caller games would travel retired but said its 3 caller archetypal Witcher titles would motorboat wrong a six-year play aft Polaris' release.

The institution plans to propulsion into online multiplayer with immoderate of its aboriginal titles, including different crippled successful the Witcher franchise codenamed "Sirius."

"We are readying to adhd multiplayer to immoderate of our aboriginal titles, and we are readying to bash much successful the country of TV and film," said Michal Nowakowski, CD Projekt's elder vice president of concern development.

CD Projekt besides announced a wholly caller crippled it is moving connected beyond its main 2 franchises, codenamed Hadar. The steadfast did not springiness distant overmuch item but said it "currently successful the conceptual phase."

It was an antithetic show of transparency successful the games industry, wherever companies often stay tight-lipped astir planned large releases up until they are acceptable to contiguous immoderate visuals and gameplay to fans, typically astatine ample commercialized shows.

Companies similar Sony and Nintendo person progressively eschewed showy manufacture conferences similar the E3 expo successful favour of smaller-scale updates. After being cancelled erstwhile successful 2020 and past replaced with a integer alternate successful 2021, E3 was again scrapped this twelvemonth by organizers, who cited wellness risks surrounding Covid-19.