In a joint press release, CD Projekt Red announced that Bandai Namco will handle the publishing duties for the European release of their upcoming video game, Cyberpunk 2077. According to the press release, Bandai Namco will publish the game in 24 specific countries, which include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. With Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment already announced as the publisher for the North American release, CD Projekt Red has added two of the biggest companies with the game’s eventual release in both markets.
While this will make little to no difference to those who actually play the game, the company reaching out to others for help with distribution shouldn’t come as a surprise. Their last game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was also handled by Warner Bros. and Bandai Namco for the North American and European release respectively. CD Projekt Red may be one of the most well known video game developing studios in the world, however it’s important to note that creating a video game in today’s market often demands a high production cost. This tends to drain the company quite a bit, and the distribution is sometimes almost as much as the development of the game itself.
It’s because of these costs that a lot of video game developers can’t handle the strain of their own budget and are either shut down, or they’re bought out to become a proprietary developer for a bigger company, such as Electronic Arts, Activision, and Bethesda. However, in this case, no such issue exists, as CD Project Red is merely partnering up with Bandai Namco for the European distribution and nothing more. As everyone knows, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was critically acclaimed worldwide, and with the familiarity of working with both companies before, it makes sense for CD Projekt Red to reach out to them once again.
In the press release, Bandai Namco Vice President of Southern Europe/Business and Development, Alberto González Lorca, stated “We’re looking forward to working once again with CD Projekt Red and distribute another of its games in Europe, providing first-class services to one of the most eagerly awaited games of the coming years.” Cyberpunk 2077 has become one of the most anticipated video games ever since it was revealed at E3 2018, and despite the lack of a release date, the hype has not dissipated in the slightest. Set in a futuristic open-world narrative with RPG elements, the game is looking to be CD Projekt Red’s biggest yet.
Cyberpunk 2077 will release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. You can check out the full press release here.