The Witcher 3 has sold 50 million copies
Obscure cult classic The Witcher 3 has sold 50 million copies, according to developer CD Projekt.
In a video summarising the company's Q1 financial results (presented in Polish with English subtitles) CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz stated "I would like to make an announcement which fills us with pride: The Witcher 3 has now been purchased by over 50 million gamers". Nielubowicz further states this puts the studio's seminal RPG "among the top ten best-selling video games in history" a stat which is "based upon publicly available data".
Nielubowicz further revealed the sales for the series overall, stating that Geralt's three adventures have shifted a combined total of 75 million copies. "This makes us even more excited with what the future holds, and with our upcoming projects set in the Witcher universe" he teases.
The Witcher's phenomenal success isn't the only thing Nielubowicz discusses in the video. He kicks off the presentation with what CD Projekt is primarily focussed on at the moment, that being the upcoming expansion to Cyberpunk 2077—Phantom Liberty. Specifically, CD Projekt is making "preparations for a communication campaign" starting with the expansion's attendance at the rapidly approaching Summer Game Fest. Nielubowicz also says the release date is "fast approaching", a possible hint that we'll get a specific launch date during Summer Game Fest.
pic.twitter.com/TLzM8UJezbMay 29, 2023
Nielubowicz closes the video by crunching the numbers, explaining that the company's revenue reached 175 million PLN (roughly US$41.5mn) in the first three months of 2023, resulting in a net profit of 70 million PLN (US$16.5mn). Nielubowicz states that "as usual" the largest portion of CD Projekt's revenue came from sales of Cyberpunk, though the Witcher 3 "enjoyed another strong quarter" due to its Next Gen console release.
In short, CD Projekt probably doesn't need to worry too much about the future, which is good because many of its ongoing projects are some distance away. Beyond Phantom Liberty, there's also a new Witcher trilogy in the works. We don't know when those games will be releasing, but we do know the remake of the Witcher 1 will launch after the first game in that series. Meanwhile, another Witcher project, codenamed Project Sirius, has been rebooted from the ground up. Then there's Project Orion, aka the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. Given how long that game was in the works, I wouldn't hold your breath for seeing it anytime soon.