The CD PROJEKT Group posted 364 million PLN in sales revenues for the first half of 2020 – nearly 70% more than during the corresponding period in 2019. Compared to the first half of 2019, the Group’s net profit increased nearly threefold, reaching 147 million PLN.
– This improvement in our earnings compared to the past year is due, among others, to the unceasing popularity of The Witcher 3, including excellent sales of its Nintendo Switch edition, as well as releases of other games from The Witcher universe on new hardware platforms. In late 2019 GWENT was made available to users of iOS devices, with the Android release following in the first half of the current year. We also released Thronebreaker for Nintendo Switch. The mobile editions of our games – another first for us – have met with very positive reception among gamers – says Piotr Nielubowicz, Vice President and CFO of CD PROJEKT.
– The Group’s earnings also benefited from the free movement restrictions introduced in many countries in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Gamer interest spiked during the lockdown period, with many people trying out videogames for the first time in their lives, or returning to this form of entertainment after years of inactivity – mostly as a result of the easy availability of videogames on digital distribution platforms, without the need to leave one’s home – adds Piotr Nielubowicz.
The Company continued with its intensive work on Cyberpunk 2077, scheduled for release on 19 November of the current year. 114 million PLN was spent on development of games and technologies in H1 2020, while the cumulative balance of expenditures of development projects increased to 483 million PLN.
Despite the global restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CD PROJEKT RED Studio successfully organized a hands-on campaign for journalists from around the world.
– Over 120 journalists and gaming opinion leaders from 15 countries were given the opportunity to play Cyberpunk for several hours. We collected a trove of positive feedback, which fills us with pride and motivates us to carry on with our work – remarks Adam Kiciński, CEO of the CD PROJEKT Group.
Given the cancellation of many gaming industry events, the CD PROJEKT RED team decided to switch to online channels to familiarize Cyberpunk fans with the game’s universe – hence the recurring Night City Wire broadcast.
– We want you to see a bit of what’s up our sleeve and how multidimensional the coming game truly is. Gamer response has been resounding: 1.7 million people tuned in live to the first episode of the series. This format also gives us the opportunity to present new initiatives – for example, during the first episode we announced the CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS anime series, developed in collaboration with Studio Trigger and set to launch on Netflix in 2022 – summarizes Adam Kiciński
In the final week of August the Spokko studio, which is part of the Group, announced The Witcher: Monster Slayer – a mobile augmented reality game. This newest addition to The Witcher universe has already had its soft launch in New Zealand.
The full financial statement of the CD PROJEKT Group can be found at https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/investors/result-center/.