Cyberpunk 2077 has officially passed The Witcher 3‘s all-time concurrent player record, attracting a whopping 104,827 concurrent players at its peak on 24 September 2022. According to analyst Benji-Sales, The Witcher 3 peaked at just 103,329 during its lifetime. While the milestone has only just been cleared, it’s an impressive achievement – and one that likely indicates Cyberpunk 2077 is back on track to becoming a major hit.
The game launched with lofty ambitions in 2020, but was ultimately grounded by a buggy launch that disappointed many. The game crashed with alarming frequency, characters were guided by rogue AI, combat was poor and felt unfinished, and every story beat was marred by game-breaking bugs. CD Projekt Red was also allegedly at the mercy of studio crunch, which likely contributed to these issues.
Two years on from this disaster, a number of updates and patches have finally polished Cyberpunk 2077 to near-perfection, smoothing out those rough edges and creating a playable, extremely fun adventure filled with deep story, and a lore that has fascinated new and returning players.
The game’s record concurrent player count has been aided by a number of factors – largely the release of Edgerunners, the Netflix anime, and the game update of the same name. The Netflix anime has proved to be wildly popular, with fans and critics praising the characters and mythology of this series. It expands on the world of the game with an original tale – one that highlights the high-speed action and stakes of society in the world of Cyberpunk 2077.
Read: Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners inspires major game revival
Those who’ve dived into the anime are now returning to the video game in droves, keen to re-experience (or experience for the first time) the dramatic and sweeping tale of V and Johnny Silverhand.
It’s certainly helped matters that the game is currently one sale at a 50% discount on Steam at the time of writing, and that it’s been the subject of many sales other over the last two years. Even if players didn’t jump in at launch, it’s likely there are many that purchased the game with the intent to eventually play it. Now that Cyberpunk fever has hit the world of entertainment, it’s the perfect time to jump in.
If you’ve yet to play Cyberpunk 2077, there are now plenty of reasons to give it your time. Following patch 1.6, the game is now more stable than it’s ever been, and it now comes packed with new content and features, like the ability to mod your clothing, and choose your favourite outfits regardless of power levels and benefits. In addition, there’s also now tie-in content for Edgerunners to find, including David’s iconic yellow jacket.
Cyberpunk 2077 is in the midst of a major revival – one that will likely boost interest in the future of the game, including in its upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion. Expect the concurrent player count to grow ahead of the DLC launch in 2023.
