Big Bonuses for the Big Boys
Prior to mid-2020, a mere slight against CD Projekt Red’s (“CDPR”) integrity and values as a corporate company in the sphere of gaming would be met by various responses stating that CDPR is ‘different’. However, following the release of the long-awaited and insanely hyped Cyberpunk 2077, the image of the company took a hit. Cyberpunk 2077 had a shaky release as it was filled with bugs and was the butt of jokes from various journalists across the industry.
The biggest issue for the developers and fans alike was the allegation that CDPR refused to delay the game to allow proper testing and further implementation of ideas. Notwithstanding the detractors, the game sold amazingly well netting approximately USD$562 million in revenue as of April 15th, 2021. In 2020 alone, the company reported profits of USD$300 million, although the company’s share price took a hit.
In a recent exposé, it was revealed that the CEO and Co-CEO of CDPR received bonuses worth USD$6.3 million while a board member, Adam Badowski earned USD$4.2 million.
The bonuses are based on the profit-sharing regime of the company in relation to its yearly earnings. On the flipside, employees reported that they received between USD$5000 to USD$9000 while senior employees received USD$15,000 to USD$20,000. It was also reported that the money the money split between five executives amounted to USD$28 million.
In response to the issue of fairness regarding the discrepancy in the pay-outs, Co-CEO Adam Kiciński stated that, “We earned this money, and the company earned this money, of course, but more net profits, more bonuses…So well, we have results, we get bonuses, and that’s the contract we have.”
It appears that based on the current scheme within the company, there would be a perpetual conflict between the bonuses of CDPR’s executives and the developers amongst other employees.
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