Cyberpunk 2077 sees 176% surge in concurrent players as 'Edgerunners 2' takes off

'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2' drives 176% spike in concurrent players of source game

Anime adaptation in 2022 also triggered a similar comeback for the game

Nexon, Devsisters among Korean studios pursuing screen adaptations of game IP

An AI-generated image based on scenes from "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2." [Created with ChatGPT]

Cyberpunk 2077 is making a remarkable comeback. Key performance metrics for the game have surged on the back of the popularity of "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2," the Netflix animated series set in the same universe.

The trend is drawing attention across the industry, with analysts pointing to screen adaptations of game intellectual property as a core strategy for attracting new players, reviving older titles, and expanding a franchise's overall fandom.

A scene from "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2," the Netflix animated series. [Provided by Netflix]

According to game statistics site SteamDB, Cyberpunk 2077 recorded a daily peak of 185,943 concurrent players on Sunday — a 176.5 percent jump from 67,252 the previous week. Over the same period, the game's global sales ranking on Steam climbed 15 places, from 17th to second.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing game released in 2020 by Polish developer CD Projekt Red. Set in the futuristic metropolis of Night City, it casts players as a mercenary carrying out a variety of missions. As of July, the game's cumulative global sales had surpassed 40 million copies.

The resurgence is widely attributed to the popularity of "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2," which Netflix released Monday. The animated series is set within the Cyberpunk 2077 universe and serves as a sequel to the first season, which debuted in 2022.

The show has drawn significant attention both before and since its release. As of Wednesday, the official trailer on YouTube had surpassed 4.9 million views. Shortly after its premiere, the series reached No. 2 on Netflix's global TV show chart and No. 1 in the United States.

This is not the first time Cyberpunk 2077 has benefited from an animated adaptation. The game shed players rapidly after its initial launch due to serious bugs and optimization problems, but it staged a full recovery when Netflix released "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" in 2022 — climbing to the top of Steam's sales chart in the process.

ARC Raiders, a popular title from Nexon. [Provided by Nexon]

The strategy of adapting game IP for the screen has delivered results beyond the Cyberpunk franchise.

After Nintendo released "Super Mario Bros." in 2023, global sales of five Super Mario-related games rose 30 percent year-on-year. Sony's The Last of Us saw a similar effect: following the premiere of the TV drama series of the same name that year, physical sales of The Last of Us Part I in the United Kingdom jumped 238 percent week-on-week.

Korean game companies have recently begun pursuing the same approach. On Oct. 6, Nexon announced a partnership with Hollywood production company Chernin Entertainment to develop film and TV content based on ARC Raiders and The Finals. Devsisters separately announced plans on Oct. 12 to produce an animated film based on its popular game IP Cookie Run, in partnership with Hollywood studio Big Shot Pictures.

Smilegate and Krafton had already moved in this direction earlier — Smilegate in 2024 and Krafton in 2021 and 2022 — releasing animated series and short films based on their respective hit games Crossfire and Battlegrounds as part of broader IP expansion efforts.

Industry observers say adapting game IP for the screen has become a core strategy for raising mainstream awareness and building long-term franchises. Screen content can introduce a game's world to audiences who have never played it, opening the door to new players.

"In Western markets, film and TV content has already proven effective at raising IP awareness," an industry official said. "Korean game companies are continuing to pursue screen adaptations as part of their push into global markets, and that trend is expected to accelerate."

young2@heraldcorp.com