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 ofCyberpunk 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 forCyberpunk 2077across the world.
Asian market analyst Daniel Ahmad provided some very interesting information regardingCyberpunk 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 2077accrued more than 19 million cumulative viewers on Chinese streaming platforms. That’s with more than 7,500 individual streamers playingCyberpunk 2077. For comparison,Twitch broke its recordwith 1 million concurrent viewers.
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Regarding sales, Ahmad explains howCyberpunk 2077was, for a time, top ofPC 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 longCyberpunkwas 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 2077isn’t technically released in China. Neither does it even have an official release date. As Ahmad notes,China requires approvalthrough the government’s State Administration of Press and Publication, whichCyberpunk 2077has 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 ofCyberpunk 2077in 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 aCyberpunkwiki that saidTaiwanis “not actually a part of China.” While not directly tied toCyberpunk 2077,the wiki was used for a call for the government to banCyberpunk 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 Redmay be content with the situation as it stands and otherwise avoid potential controversies. Or, at least, more controversies than its already built up.
Cyberpunk 2077is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
