Cyberpunk 2077 Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Heartfelt Messages From Developers

Today, December 10, marks the five-year anniversary of Cyberpunk 2077's original launch. It has been a tumultuous yet ultimately successful journey for the RPG, and developers from CD Projekt Red are weighing in with messages of gratitude for the community that helped turn Night City around.

Pawel Sasko, a game designer, shared his profound appreciation: "I feel nothing but gratitude towards each one of you," he said. "I feel so thankful to be part of this community. I love all the pictures, videos; all the cosplay and mods that you have done for Cyberpunk 2077. It has been an incredible adventure."

He added that he feels "so thankful to be able to work on this game and to add something valuable to your lives." Fellow developer Bartek Pyrko echoed the sentiment, calling the project a "defining and unforgettable chapter of my career."

 

The Road to Redemption

The game's initial release in December 2020 was famously difficult, with a technically rough state on last-gen consoles that led to its temporary removal from the PlayStation Store and thousands of player refunds.

CD Projekt Red famously pledged to fix, update, and improve the game, a promise they delivered on through years of patches. This effort culminated with the massive 2.0 update in 2023, which overhauled numerous gameplay systems, and the release of the critically acclaimed Phantom Liberty expansion.

A Commercial Powerhouse

This dedication to fixing the game has paid off in a massive way. Cyberpunk 2077 has now sold more than 35 million copies, a major milestone it reached faster than CD Projekt's previous hit, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game even recently expanded its reach with a launch on the new Switch 2 console earlier this year.

The future of the franchise is bright:

• Cyberpunk 2 is in the works: A sequel, codenamed Project Orion, is officially in pre-production. The development team is scaling up, particularly at the lead studio in Boston, though the game is still several years away and is expected to launch with the next generation of consoles (post-PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).

• New TCG Announced: The Cyberpunk universe continues to expand with the recent announcement of an official physical Cyberpunk Trading Card Game. The TCG will feature characters from the 2077 game and the Edgerunners Netflix series, with a Kickstarter campaign planned for 2026.

As the developers reflect on the past five years, the overwhelming message is one of thanks to the community that stuck by them and helped make Cyberpunk 2077's turnaround one of the most remarkable stories in recent gaming history.

What's your favorite memory or piece of fan content from Night City? Let me know!