CD Projekt Red have pulled a surprise rabbit out of their hat - a limited edition Cyberpunk 2077 (700) $500 (US) / $713 (OZ) watch.

Approaching the first anniversary of their launch and also nearing Christmas, we might have predicted some kind of update or one of their promised small DLC.

With a week to go until the anniversary those are still possible but right now we have this expensive watch.

Cyberpunk 2077 being a game set in the near future and with fashion being an important component of the Cyberpunk property it makes sense for them to create and sell clothing and accessories.

They do. This watch isn't their first or only merchandise.

There are three interesting things about this.

Money

A limited run of these watches will net them $350,000 (US). We can only guess at how much they cost to produce but potentially a huge chunk of that is profit.

CD ProjeKt Red have earned themselves some good street cred by criticising the use of microtransactions in other games, i.e. selling virtual items within them for real money. Also loot boxes (i.e. gambling with real money for a chance at in-game items). For example:

If you buy a full priced game, you should get a big, polished piece of content.

and:

Worry not. When thinking CP2077, think nothing less than TW3 — huge single player, open world, story-driven RPG. No hidden catch, you get what you pay for — no bullshit, just honest gaming like with Wild Hunt. We leave greed to others.

Seemed like they had their fingers on the proverbial pulse and were willing to give many gamers what they wanted.

While it had a troubled launch, Cyberpunk 2077 is completely free of microtransactions.

But have they left "greed" to others or did they in the process of developing a game which is uncommonly well suited to merchandising opportunities like this watch, decide to pitch their tent here where most of their competitors can't?

Cybeprunk's clothing could be worn anywhere without appearing out of place or drawing unkind attention. The same isn't true for most games.

CD Projekt Red's position on microtransactions is still great but perhaps deserves to be viewed with a touch more cynicism.

Money

One could mount a range of defenses of this watch sale which would be rejected for microtransactions for digital items.

You can't have everything. It's just a watch. Meaningless. Doesn't change your enjoyment of the game.

They're essentially defenses of capitalism, i.e. the real world.

Those defenses will feel reasonable because the real world is what we live in and can't change so accept.

For some gamers, games are an idealized escape from the real world and they absolutely do not want this element following them in.

Most games also incorporate some kind of economy and money and operate like the real world but unlike the real world, any and every player in those games can become as rich as they please. With enough time played.

Also, everyone in those games starts on an equal footing. Real world wealth doesn't impact on it.

So the conditions here are ripe a potential seeming hypocrisy.

Money

Down at the very bottom of the screen is one final point of interest.

Owners of the T-2077 benefit from the latest Blockchain technology, administered by the specialist firm, Arianee.
This service provides the T-2077 owner with digital certification of authenticity, effectively a digital passport for their watch, mitigating the risk of counterfeiting. Should the owner wish to transfer ownership they can do so easily using the Arianne app.

Others (eg. the Matrix) are trying to flog virtual items protected by blockchain, i.e. non-refungible tokens (NFTs). That's a potentially very hard thing to sell to gamers, many of whom are already view the pre-blockchain equivalent with extreme disdain.

Here we have a use of blockchain attached to real items to protect authenticity.

CD Projekt Red have seemingly rejected all interest in selling virtual items. To them this might just be a bit of techno-fluff to enhance the "cyber" value of the Cyberpunk watch.

It might also be intended to have a positive associative effect with NFTs.

Blockchain isn't the NFT component which people are most likely to object to. That would be paying money for things which only exist virtually.

But blockchain's use with real world items as a security measure might be intended to have an associative normalising effect on NFTs.

[ Main Image: Cyberpunk T-2077 Watch. Credit: CD Projekt Red via Gear. ]

References

CD Projekt Red [@CDPROJEKTRED] (December 2, 2021). #CDPRgear and @Blonie_Watches proudly present the T-2077 — a limited edition wristwatch born from a love for the craft and the dystopian setting of #Cyberpunk2077. Twitter.

CD Projekt Red. T-2077 T‑2077 — Cyberpunk 2077 x Błonie Watch. Gear.

CD Projekt Red [@CDPROJEKTRED] (November 19, 2017). Worry not. Twitter.

Cyberpunk Wiki. Fashion. (viewed November 4, 2021)

Donnelly, Joe (February 15, 2021). CD Projekt Red responds to loot box controversy. PC Gamer.