Cyberpunk 2077, despite technical woes that have driven heavy criticism, is proving to be a staggering success. The game is breaking records for sales on PC, has the record for most concurrent viewers on Twitch, and all just days after launch. Perhaps the best evidence of Cyberpunk 2077‘s comes from a country where it technically isn’t approved for release. China, of all regions, may be one of the biggest success stories for Cyberpunk 2077 across the world.
Asian market analyst Daniel Ahmad provided some very interesting information regarding Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch on Twitter this Friday. To start, Ahmad keys in on online streaming as a key metric. He says that on the first day of availability, Cyberpunk 2077 accrued more than 19 million cumulative viewers on Chinese streaming platforms. That’s with more than 7,500 individual streamers playing Cyberpunk 2077. For comparison, Twitch broke its record with 1 million concurrent viewers.
Regarding sales, Ahmad explains how Cyberpunk 2077 was, for a time, top of PC pre-orders. It’s also reportedly seeing strong day one sales. No specific sales information appears to be available yet, however. And it isn’t clear how long Cyberpunk was number one for pre-orders or what game eventually knocked it down. Needless to say, the numbers are likely very impressive given the livestreaming totals.
There is one major caveat, of course. Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t technically released in China. Neither does it even have an official release date. As Ahmad notes, China requires approval through the government’s State Administration of Press and Publication, which Cyberpunk 2077 has not gone through. However, China does have a very active and popular grey market for video games. Chinese gamers are able to purchase the game through unauthorized Steam usage or by ordering the console game via international marketplaces.
The success of Cyberpunk 2077 in China comes despite a social media campaign seeking to stop people from buying the game in the country. There were some frustrations over an entry in a Cyberpunk wiki that said Taiwan is “not actually a part of China.” While not directly tied to Cyberpunk 2077, the wiki was used for a call for the government to ban Cyberpunk 2077. No action has been taken, but it may impede efforts to get official approval in the future.
Whether or not CD Projekt Red pursues an official release in China, the game is clearly already a massive success in the region. CD Projekt Red may be content with the situation as it stands and otherwise avoid potential controversies. Or, at least, more controversies than its already built up.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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