A market research firm looking into the situation surrounding the release of Cyberpunk 2077 has concluded that publisher CD Projekt could be a target for a big-money acquisition. This is due to the poor launch state of the highly anticipated open-world game, particularly on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. While the game ran reasonably well on home computers, the console port is plagued with various issues, to the point where Sony delisted the game from their console's digital storefront. The publisher has had to promise refunds to large swathes of its entire customer base and realign their priorities towards immediate bug fixes rather than working on the follow-up DLC and future projects.
All of this has sharply dropped the company's stock prices, both in terms of perception by the general audience and the literal stock price. This makes it one of several targets for a buyout, a trend that has been increasing in the gaming industry as of late. New players with deep pockets like Google and Amazon are joining the fray and looking for established companies to round out their portfolios. Meanwhile, Xbox has purchased Bethesda parent company ZeniMax in a move that shows how much it's willing to invest to ensure its all-encompassing Game Pass subscription service remains competitive.
Looking into the unfortunate state of Cyberpunk 2077 at launch, VGC has reported on findings from market research firm DFC Intelligence. They conclude in their analysis that a publisher with wider reach and more public relations knowledge could have avoided many of the issues of CD Projekt Red's poor showing. They suggest that releasing just the PC version last year or even letting gamers know the initial state of the console version would have avoided a lot of the issues that the company now faces. One of those consequences is that publisher CD Projekt is now in a publicly vulnerable position that could attract a buyout from a larger corporation, which DFC Intelligence sees as a very possible outcome.
DFC Intelligence suggests that while the company is still similar in size to ZeniMax or Ubisoft, those types of deals are on the table for the highest bidders. It would be a high-risk move that could pay off with high reward for the right buyer, especially considering how valuable the Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises could be in the future. The Witcher, in particular, could be a great pickup, as it has an audience outside of gaming thanks to its Netflix show. On top of that, a new game in the series would produce Cyberpunk levels of hype if handled correctly.
Beyond just games like Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt also has several other business ventures, including PC storefront GOG. Any potential acquisitions would have to take on those responsibilities as well or risk a public backlash by shutting them down. That complication could save the Polish team from an unfavorable pairing, but it's also possible that the game development arm could be spun off in some way if the right buyer came along. Money talks in any industry, and with companies like Google and Amazon fishing for intellectual property, no company is truly off the market.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PS4 (retail-only), Xbox One, Stadia, and PC, and it will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.
Source: VGC