Poland’s CD Projekt third-quarter profit soars thanks to Cyberpunk boost

(Reuters) -Polish video game maker CD Projekt’s third-quarter net profit jumped more than 500%, topping expectations, helped by sales of its flagship Cyberpunk 2077 game.

Interest in the game was spurred by the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series which premiered on Netflix in September, and the release of an update to the game, the company said.

“The popularity of the series and the positive reception of the 1.6 update to Cyberpunk 2077, released a week earlier, had a measurable impact on the game’s sales,” CD Projekt Chief Executive Adam Kicinski said in a statement.

Net profit came in 98.7 million zlotys ($21.94 million), compared to the 88 million zlotys expected by analysts.

The studio also behind The Witcher franchise reported revenue of 245.5 million zlotys, up 70% and above expectations of 239 million zlotys.

The third quarter was the best so far this year for sales of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt’s Chief Financial Officer Piotr Nielubowicz said, without giving a specific number.

The company said in September it had sold 20 million copies of the game so far, compared to more than 13.7 million it earlier said it had sold in its debut year.

($1 = 4.4981 zlotys)

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Jan Harvey)