After 15 Million Sales, Cyberpunk 2077 Makes a Strong Case for DLC Open-World RPGs Need More Of

It’s not exactly a secret that Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t have the best launch. Actually, its release was historically, publicly terrible, prompting the removal of Cyberpunk from the PlayStation Store, not to mention various waves of refunds and lawsuits. But it’s much improved now, courtesy of steady and significant updates from developer CD Projekt Red.

The greatest of these was Cyberpunk 2077‘s first and last paid DLC, Phantom Liberty. For many, this expansion’s release marks the official turning point for Cyberpunk 2077, the apogee of its transformation from overambitious, beleaguered mess to masterful cinematic RPG. CD Projekt Red itself leaned into this interpretation, marketing Phantom Liberty and its associated, free, transformative updates as “Cyberpunk 2.0.” Even taking Phantom Liberty by itself, it’s quite revolutionary for the Cyberpunk experience, flinging open the doors to the Dogtown neighborhood and introducing a host of new NPCs, weapons, vehicles, abilities, and so on. It’s substantial and arguably adheres to a higher quality bar than the base game, and in an industry that seems to favor live-service nonsense and microtransactions in single-player RPGs, this is great.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Has Been a Booming Success

In a September 2026 business update on the CD Projekt Red blog, the developer shared some impressive—and not necessarily expected—sales figures. For one thing, the company reports net earnings that are 37% higher than in 2026, positive growth which CDPR attributes, at least partially, to strong ongoing sales of “games from the Cyberpunk and Witcher universes,” despite neither IP getting a new, full release since 2020.

Worth noting in this vein is the success of the Phantom Liberty expansion, which has sold 15-million copies since launch, according to the blog post. Not accounting for factors like taxes or discounts, this translates to sales numbers far north of $400-million USD—a hardy sum, to be sure. When compared to some other single-player DLCs, which tend to land without so much fanfare or consequence, Phantom Liberty’s impact becomes more striking.

Raw Sales Figures Aren’t the Only Benefit Phantom Liberty Offers

Before examining why Phantom Liberty’s success is so notable, I should say that pure sales data—that is, numbers of units sold—isn’t the end-all, be-all in a case like Cyberpunk 2077‘s. As CDPR lays out in the aforementioned blog post:

“Our high revenues in the first half of 2026 were enabled by strong sales of games from the Cyberpunk and Witcher universes. In addition, this year a significant contribution came from licensing our IP – an activity which is progressively becoming more important for us, and which reflects the recognition and status of our brands within the global popular culture.”

Put plainly, the ongoing support of Cyberpunk 2077 helps maintain the Cyberpunk brand. For better or worse, this allows for lucrative crossovers and licensing arrangements, which in turn facilitate greater attention and sales for the core series. Without the sense of gravity, integrity, and pride that Phantom Liberty communicates, the Cyberpunk brand would be less valuable in this capacity.

Phantom Liberty Proves That Momentous Change Is the Way to Go for Single-Player, Open-World Expansions

It should go without saying that I, as a player, will always prefer a meaningful expansion like Phantom Liberty or Shadow of the Erdtree over, let’s say, the various outfit packs available in an Assassin’s Creed game. But with over $400-million in sales, a massive boost in brand value, and a considerable increase in player retention for the Cyberpunk 2077 base game, it should be clear that Phantom Liberty is more than just a pro-consumer project: it’s also a smart business move.

The strength of the open-world genre is its ability to put players’ imaginations in a vice-like grip. The best open-world games are the ones that keep you coming back, and make you reluctant to leave. There are myriad ways to accomplish this sort of allure, from good world-building to compelling environment design, but also through continued support. As far as paid DLC goes, major, persistent changes support this far better than cosmetics, mission packs, or alternate modes ever could.

By making Phantom Liberty as polished and well-integrated as it is, CD Projekt Red both reinvigorated and extended interest in Cyberpunk 2077, something that’s translated to meaningful, material rewards for the company. And for players, Cyberpunk 2077 has grown into a more complex, vast, and intriguing version of its original self thanks to the expansion.

Other Open-World RPGs Should Learn from Phantom Liberty, with Nuance

While Phantom Liberty is an admirable effort from CD Projekt Red, it’s not exactly a template that every open-world RPG can follow to the letter. Cyberpunk 2077 was already of prominent cultural significance by the time that Phantom Liberty was released, expanding its reach through projects like the Edgerunners anime, and had been on the upswing of its redemption arc for some time. On top of this, Phantom Liberty was born from the substantial funds of CDPR, a publicly traded company owned and led by its original founders.

In other words, Phantom Liberty benefited from a degree of financial and creative freedom that simply doesn’t apply to most developers, either big or small. The lesson should not be that developers need to match Phantom Liberty’s scope or production value, but that a single, solid expansion can keep players on the hook just as much, if not more, than drip-fed content or by-the-numbers mission packs.

Phantom Liberty is helping keep Cyberpunk 2077 alive, something that allows CD Projekt Red to generate income, hype, and public goodwill, all of which can be leveraged for future creative endeavors. More pedestrian or formulaic DLCs might be easier to make, but they don’t go far to enrich the value of a game and IP beyond the short-term.

Released

December 10, 2020

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol