Cyberpunk 2077 was supposed to be released just a few short days from now, however, developer CD Projekt Red delayed the game for the third time. Following this delay, CDPR’s stock price fell by 25%.
The announcement came on October 27 in a surprise post on Twitter. CDPR found themselves in a PR nightmare, having promised dedicated fans that the game would not be delayed again. In fact, just the day before the most recent delay, CDPR directly promised one fan that they were safe to take time off of work because the game had “full confirmation” that it would be released on time.
The decision to delay the game was so sudden that the developers working on it learned of the delay at the same time as everyone else. Of course, CDPRs investors were left out of the announcement as well. The cause of the delay was reported to be needed optimizations for current generation consoles. When the markets opened on October 28, the stock price dropped from €81.64 to €72.84, or 11%. However, this is just one more slump in a downward trajectory, as CDPR’s stock has lost a full 25% of its value since its August high of €106.30—representing a loss of roughly €3 billion.
This time last year, CDPR stock was valued at €59.90 with a five year low of €4.52 in 2016. CDPR has been mired in controversy surrounding its game development practices, with a report from one former employee claiming that they were paid just $430 per month for their work on The Witcher 3 in 2015. In a letter to those investors who had not sold their stock, CEO Adam Kiciński downplayed “crunch” conditions at CDPR, then emailed the developers and apologized for downplaying the issue to investors. Amazingly, in that same discussion with investors, Kiciński admitted that the game could be launched on November 19th, but that “he and the board wanted to work on technical things.”
Investors asked questions of Kiciński that many others may have also asked. Several wondered if this would, in fact, be the last time that the game was delayed. Kiciński responded, “We feel – maybe not comfortable [chuckle], but confident and will are releasing on the 10th.”
Source: Markets Insider
