Paramount Cyberpunk film plans lift CD Projekt shares 3%

Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action film set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, according to reports published on October 8, and shares in Polish game developer CD Projekt rose 3% in early trading on October 9. The project would extend a franchise whose original game has sold 40 million copies, Reuters reported.

TheWrap independently reported the adaptation on Thursday, saying CD Projekt RED, the developer and franchise rights holder, would also produce it. Reuters reported the development on Friday, citing entertainment outlet Deadline for the film plans and recording the early share-price reaction.

What CD Projekt has said about Paramount

“We're excited about Paramount as a future partner who shares our creative ambitions for the Cyberpunk franchise,” CD Projekt RED joint-CEO Michal Nowakowski wrote on X late Thursday, according to Reuters. “We look forward to sharing more details at the appropriate time.”

His description of Paramount as a future partner leaves the precise contractual status unspecified. CD Projekt RED told Reuters it had nothing to add beyond that post, while Paramount did not immediately respond to the news agency’s request for comment.

Game sales and the Cyberpunk sequel

Reuters reported that Cyberpunk 2077 had sold 40 million copies as of July 3, while its Phantom Liberty expansion had sold 15 million. Those figures describe purchases of the game and its expansion; they do not measure revenue or demand for the proposed film.

A sequel is also in development. According to Reuters, CD Projekt RED had 184 developers working on it as of July 31, with no launch date announced. The original game was released in December 2020, TheWrap reported.

Erste analyst Krzysztof Tkocz told Reuters that Paramount’s involvement should help sustain interest ahead of the next Cyberpunk instalment. That is an expectation about the franchise’s visibility: the reports provide no estimate of additional game sales, earnings or film revenue attributable to the project.

The 3% share gain is an early-Friday trading observation reported by Reuters, which linked the move to the film news. It does not establish the stock’s closing performance, and the report gives no precise observation time or exchange price for that move.

Cyberpunk’s earlier live-action project

Live-action ambitions for Cyberpunk predate Paramount’s reported involvement. On October 5, 2023, CD Projekt RED announced a collaboration with Anonymous Content to develop a project set in the game’s world. The company’s announcement described a search for a screenwriter to tell a brand-new story.

Under that announcement, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios would serve as the studio, working closely with the Cyberpunk creative team. CD Projekt identified Anonymous Content’s previous productions as including True Detective, Mr. Robot, The Revenant and Spotlight. The description of early development referred to the project’s status in 2023.

Neither current report explains how Paramount’s involvement relates contractually to that earlier collaboration. Anonymous Content’s continuing role remains unclear, and the reporting does not establish either that it has been replaced or that two separate films are being developed.

Night City, screen adaptations and casting

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world action role-playing game set in Night City, a dystopian metropolis shaped by corporate power, advanced technology and sharp economic divisions. Players control V, a mercenary taking jobs for gangs, corporations and other powerful figures, according to TheWrap’s description.

The franchise already has a screen adaptation in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the Netflix anime made with Studio Trigger. CD Projekt’s 2023 announcement highlighted its Anime of the Year awards from IGN and Crunchyroll, documenting an earlier expansion of the game’s world into television.

TheWrap identifies di Bonaventura as a Transformers producer. It also notes that Keanu Reeves appears in Cyberpunk 2077 as a non-playable character, but says whether he would return for the Paramount movie is unknown. His involvement in the game therefore does not establish a casting commitment for the film.