Cyberpunk 2077 at Five — From Rocky Launch to 35 Million Sold

December 10, 2025 marked five years since Cyberpunk 2077 launched — and subsequently melted down on last-gen consoles, got pulled from the PlayStation Store, and became the poster child for overpromising in the games industry.

Five years later, it's sold 35 million copies, Phantom Liberty moved 10 million units, and the game sits at an overwhelmingly positive reception. That's one of the greatest comeback stories in gaming history.

The Turning Points

Patch 1.5 (February 2022)

The first genuinely transformative update. New apartments, a reworked police system, rebalanced perks, and finally stable performance on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. This is when the narrative started to shift.

Edgerunners (September 2022)

Studio TRIGGER's anime on Netflix did something no patch could — it made people want to play Cyberpunk 2077. Player counts surged. The game was cool again.

Phantom Liberty (September 2023)

CD Projekt Red's one and only expansion. A spy thriller starring Idris Elba that stood alongside the best DLCs in RPG history. This was the version of Night City that CDPR always envisioned.

Update 2.0 (September 2023)

Launched alongside Phantom Liberty, this free update completely rebuilt the skill tree, cyberware system, police AI, and vehicular combat. It was essentially Cyberpunk 2077 version 2.

Update 2.3 (July 2025)

The final major update added the AutoDrive system with Delamain taxis, a complete Photo Mode overhaul, four new vehicles, and — most notably — launched the game on Mac and Nintendo Switch 2.

Where It Stands Now

CDPR has moved on. The core team is split between The Witcher 4 and Project Orion (the Cyberpunk sequel). But the game itself is in the best state it's ever been:

• VRR support on PS5 Pro delivers 40fps in Quality Mode and up to 90fps in Performance Mode
• Nintendo Switch 2 runs the complete Ultimate Edition portably
• The modding scene has nearly 20,000 mods on Nexus, with new ones daily
• 20,000+ daily Steam players as of early 2026

The Franchise Expands

CDPR celebrated the fifth anniversary in December 2025 with a wave of announcements:

• Edgerunners Season 2 — a new standalone anime with TRIGGER, set after the first season with a new cast. In production, likely releasing around 2027
• Cyberpunk Trading Card Game — by WeirdCo, Kickstarter launching March 17, 2026
• Cyberpunk 2077: The Board Game — by Go On Board, releasing Q2 2026 after raising over $10 million on Gamefound
• Cyberpunk 2077: Chrome — a new horror/slasher comic series from Dark Horse Comics, first issue out January 2026

What About the Sequel?

Project Orion entered pre-production in May 2025. It's being built on Unreal Engine 5 by CDPR's North American studios, with the team growing from 116 to 135 developers. They'll need 350-500 at full production.

Early reports suggest Night City returns alongside a new city described as "Chicago gone wrong" — grittier, under Militech influence. Multiplayer is reportedly a priority. Estimated release: 2029-2030 at the earliest.

The Legacy

Cyberpunk 2077's story is ultimately about what happens when a studio refuses to abandon a game. The easy path would have been to release a couple of patches and move on. Instead, CDPR spent three years rebuilding the game from the inside out.

Night City was always a great place. It just needed time to become a great game.