Cyberpunk 2077’s popularity is still on the rise, nearly two years after the game’s disastrous launch where it was even pulled from the PlayStation Store. On Sept. 21, 2022, over 80,000 players were playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam alone. That number dropped a bit – to 60,000 – as the day neared its end, but it seemingly represents a new normal for the game following a brief initial spike after its first DLC, Phantom Liberty, was announced with a 2023 release window.
Since Edgerunners, the Cyberpunk 2077 anime, began airing on Netflix, developer CD Projekt RED said more players began showing interest in the RPG. During the week of Sept. 19, 2022, CDPR said over 1 million new and returning players booted the game up on Steam each day, putting the game in the top 10 most popular games on Valve’s platform.
“We wanted to use this opportunity to thank you for being with us and playing the game,” CDPR said in a post on Twitter. “Thanks, Chooms!”
Quest director Paweł Sasko also acknowledged the milestone on Twitter, where he thanked players for giving the game a second chance.
Critics praised Edgerunners’ twist on Night City and the myriad problems, injustices, and inequalities that fester within. Even Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima voiced his admiration for Edgerunners on Twitter.
“I just watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners in one sitting,” Kojima said. “Awesome! Under the recent domestic anime situation, there was a feeling that famous Japanese studios were consumed by the overseas market, but not this one.”
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
