Amidst controversy and furore, Cyberpunk 2077 debuts atop of the UK Charts

Night City Higher

Night City’s fascinating and dangerous world – inhabited by a cast of intriguing and amoral characters – has been providing an exciting experience for many Cyberpunk 2077 players. However, the slew of undeniable controversies surround CDPR’s development process and the title’s eventual launch – from technical, critical, employee and consumer standpoints – has gone some way to damping the fire for what was one of gaming’s most-hyped releases ever.

Of no surprise, Cyberpunk 2077 debuted in the No.1 spot of this week’s UK Charts, becoming the second biggest UK retail release of 2020 – beaten out only by Electronic Arts’ soccer sim FIFA 21. While this is an achievement, these numbers generally reflect the sales of the PS4 and Xbox One editions of Cyberpunk 2077, the very same editions that CDPR is currently offering refunds for, due to their shaky technical performance.

Elsewhere in the charts, other blockbuster titles such as Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Sony’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla continue to jockey for both position and those all-important Holiday sales. Over in Nintendoland, sales continue for Switch releases Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and perennial Xmas seller Just Dance 5.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: December 12, 2020
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. Cyberpunk 2077 – CD Projekt RED
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Activision
3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo
4. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Ubisoft
5. FIFA 21 – Electronic Arts
6. Just Dance 5 – Ubisoft
7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Nintendo
8. Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Sony Interactive Entertainment
9. Minecraft – Nintendo
10. Super Mario 3D All-Stars – Nintendo

[GamesIndustry.biz]