CD Projekt S.A. (CDR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary
October 27, 2020
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Operator
operatorGood day, and welcome to the CD PROJEKT Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Adam Kicinski. Please go ahead.
Adam Kicinski
executiveGood evening. I'm Adam Kicinski, Joint CEO of CD PROJEKT. Thank you for joining today's call, which concerns the postponement of the Cyberpunk 2077 release date by 3 weeks until December 10. We explain the reasons behind today's decision and also answer any questions you may have. First and foremost, on behalf of the whole Board, I would like to offer an apology for breaking our promise and failing your trust. We underestimated the time required for the very final processes. The game is ready for PC and runs great on the next-gen consoles and contractually be shipped on the scheduled date on those platforms. However, even though the game has been certified on the current gen, both Sony and Microsoft, some very final optimization processes for such a massive and complex game require a bit of additional time. Moreover, while we are releasing on the PC and 2 console brands, we are, in fact, preparing and testing 9 distinct versions of the game for the following platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox One X, PS4, PS4 Pro, compatible releases on Xbox Series S and Series X, PS5 compatible release and Stadia. And last but not least, despite all the effort taken to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our work, the current pandemic situation at this final stage of the project is -- on the project is not making things any easier. We are fully aware of the consequences of this decision. But at the same time, we feel we have an amazing game on our hands and believe that the decision is the right one to take, and it will be borne out in the long run. With that, I think we can go ahead with the Q&A session. I'm at your full disposal, as are Piotr Nielubowicz, our CFO; and Michal Nowakowski, member of the Board responsible for our publishing. So now we can start Q&A session.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Omar Sheikh with Morgan Stanley.
Omar Sheikh
analystI've got 3 questions. My first one is, if you go back to what you said on -- in the middle of June when you last delayed the game, I think you specifically ruled out delaying it again beyond November 19. So my first question is, why is it different this time? Why are you confident that you can get this game out on December 10? That's the first question. And secondly, you mentioned, Adam, in your comments that you quite used was we have an amazing game on our hands. Could you maybe provide some feedback that you've been getting from the testing on how the game plays and how we can get comfortable that actually when we get out -- get the game out that it will be an amazing game and the quality will be as high as everyone expects it to be? Some color on that would be very helpful. And then thirdly, just longer term, I mean, you've had some issues with getting this game out in the time frame that you thought because you've cited the complexity a number of times. But obviously, you've got a very big project to come over the next couple of years to get multiplayer out. So how confident are you that you are going to be able to handle getting multiplayer out in 2 years? Has your experience with the single-player game sort of increased your confidence or decreased it?
Adam Kicinski
executiveHello. Thank you for questions. Adam Kicinski on this end. So starting from the first one. Now we are in a very different situation, of course, as I said, we have the game ready on PC, and it plays great on both next-gen consoles. And we are really finalizing the processes on the current gens. And to be honest, releasing on 19th, it's possible I mean was possible as well, but we believe that having this extra 2 weeks will secure more things to be really ready as we want. But those processes, those -- we are talking only about technical things are in the very final stage. So well, confidence now is even bigger than before. I mean, we can play it. We have it. So I don't know how can I describe it deeper, but the confidence is here. I mean we are happy having more time, and we believe that this is the right move. I know that 3 weeks seems not to be a long period of time, but it doubles the time we had have so -- I mean, before the decision was made. So this is the -- this is something which can help us with those technical things regarding current gens. Maybe with the second one, I'll pass to Michal because Michal was recently playing the game heavily. So maybe Michal can share his own judgment and his own opinion.
Michal Nowakowski
executiveAll right. This is Michal Nowakowski. I will actually not share my own judgment because I'm not impartial, of course. But when it comes to feedback from testing, we actually had quite a bit of that by now. And while the test feedback is actually quite lengthy, so it would take us way too long time to pass it in full pass. A lot of it is very technical. We break it into very minute answers in some point. But there is one thing which was actually recurring in all of the tests we've done. And we have people complete the game, like just yesterday night, we had people complete the game in Japan. For example, we heard from them. And the thing that we keep hearing is this is unlike anything they explained before. And that comes from the mouths of people who actually are playing games. They are fans of video games. And I'm only assuming that I've seen quite a lot. So that gives us a lot of confidence in the quality of the content we have prepared. It's of the highest standard and we're super happy with what we're about to deliver.
Adam Kicinski
executiveAnd Adam Kicinski again. And the third question about future projects. It's a hard lesson. And we know that we have to make some organizational changes in technical part of the company. We -- but we believe that we have resources. And actually having such a harsh lesson gives us better chances to be more prepared for the future challenges, I believe. So we take this lesson seriously, and we believe that future projects on this technical side will be done more properly.
Omar Sheikh
analystOkay. But can you just elaborate a little bit on what exactly you mean by technical issues?
Adam Kicinski
executiveI mean that we should having the game playable in earlier stages. I mean, having such a big game, too many things was put together at the late stages. And we should have more playable builds earlier than later. So -- well, what can I add? Because the reason behind is that we are really focused on the content. We are really focused on delivering the greatest games. And -- but at the same time, we believe that we can organize the technical side, having, as I said, having more -- I mean, earlier playable versions than before. And with multiplayer, it's a different project. So actually, we have first prototypes and through the whole course of the production, we'll keep them running and working. So -- and of course, there is one more thing, we'll release future releases probably just on the next gen, which will help a lot. I mean, now we are releasing the game, which is -- to be honest, really next-gen game. And we are preparing this game for the fairly old machines. And this is very unique challenge, and we won't have it in future projects, at least in the next one.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Kenneth Rumph with Jefferies.
Kenneth Rumph
analystI'm still looking forward to visiting Night City. I have 3 questions. One is to take the opposite tack that to ask for assurance from you that you're confident that this is enough time because one could worry that rather than delay the game, suppose you needed 7 weeks, which would have implied the game comes out in early January, which commercially is not a good time, and it's the next financial year. So you understand my question. Are you confident this is enough time? Secondly, will it mean -- I'm sure you'll get some criticism for kind of extended crunch. Will this relieve any pressure? Third one is, I guess, this, therefore, means that cash receipts will fall into the next financial year. And finally, any refunds been requested because of the delay? And do you think this could provoke further request for refunds?
Adam Kicinski
executiveWe are firm. We are -- I mean we feel firm. As I said, the game is releasable on 19th. So having those 3 more weeks just gives us better chances to fix this and that or -- so we feel secure and firm. And of course, the decision was not easy, but we know that there's just one release. And the first impression is crucial. So we thought that in the long run, having a few things done, which won't be done having it on 19th, will work in favor. But we feel maybe not comfortable, but we feel firm and we are releasing on time. Michal, can you take the second one? And I will take crunch, right? So with the crunch, actually, it's not that bad. Never was. I mean, it's a kind of story, which, of course, is floating around media, but some people, of course, are crunching heavily, but big part of the team is not crunching at all. I mean they've finished their work. So it's mostly about QA and engineers and programmers. But it's not that heavy. And of course, it will be extended a bit, but we have a feedback from the team. Team is happy that we'll have this extra 3 weeks. So we don't see any threats in regards of crunch.
Michal Nowakowski
executiveNow for the third one, this is Michal Nowakowski. I think the question was whether the majority of revenues and cash collection is going to move to the next year because these are separate things, actually. When it comes to revenues, as a matter of fact, I wouldn't go as far as saying that the majority of revenues is going to move. That's a significant portion because, of course, we're going to have less time this calendar year is, of course, going to move, but I don't want to sound like...
Kenneth Rumph
analystJust the timing of...
Michal Nowakowski
executiveMore a cash question. Yes. So for the cash, I'm going to allow Piotr to speak in a second. I'm just going to talk about the refunds. If you mean -- what do you mean by the refunds? Do you mean refinancing refunds?
Kenneth Rumph
analystAnd I now decided December 10 is too late. I can't stand to wait another 3 weeks. So you can tell I'm not convinced it's a big problem, but tell me.
Michal Nowakowski
executiveWell, we don't think it is, to be perfectly honest. We think people will wait for the game. We see people excited for the game. And we -- I can't imagine huge masses of people canceling their preorders and collecting the money back. Whether someone's gonna do it? Yes, for sure. I mean, whenever there's an event like that, there's always somebody who is frustrated and cancels the preorder. Sometimes these people do come back, sometimes not. We're, of course, going to do everything we can by presenting materials, previews, reviews and so on finally to convince these people to come back in, if this is the case. But we don't see that as a mass problem, I would say. And when it comes to cash, I will actually hand it over to Piotr.
Piotr Nielubowicz
executiveYes. Hello. Piotr Nielubowicz here. There will be a couple of sources of cash inflowing to the company. First, installments due to us upon the release of the game. And the release will still happen this year, so such installments should land on our bank accounts still before the end of December. Then within the physical distribution, the reporting is done in quarterly cycles. So regardless of the release date in November or December, still the reports will be delivered to us. In both cases, would be delivered to us at the beginning of next year. And respective payments should, in both scenarios, be done in the beginning of next year. In case of digital distribution, especially on PC, reports are delivered on a monthly basis. So still this year, we should get payments for all of the preorders generated in November. However, December sales will be reported and paid to the company at the beginning of next year. So assuming the premiere sales will be moved from the November window to December window. In this case, the revenues will also move to the beginning of next year. However, the effect of it should be either delaying the cash flow for the company by 1 month or in the cases where we generate sales by GOG by 21 days. So it's not a significant delay in terms of the time that is to be considered.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Matthew Walker with Credit Suisse.
Matthew Walker
analystJust a few questions, please. The first is you mentioned -- you said not the majority of revenues, but a significant portion will move into next year. So could you -- let's say, roughly how significant is that move in your view? Second question is really on expenses. How will this impact the expenses for the company, particularly in marketing, but also any other expenses which are impacted? Is there any impact on how you pay your physical distribution partners that will be the second question? And then I didn't quite catch the explanations on the different platforms that you just gave for revenues and cash movement into January for some of those platforms. So could you just go over that again, please?
Piotr Nielubowicz
executiveYes. So first of all, I refer to the question of the cash being postponed, not the revenues being postponed to next year. As far as the cash that is considered to be postponed partially to next year in physical distribution, the situation should not change. In both scenarios, both the release are for in November and in December, the situation was and still should be that the payments for our royalties will happen at the beginning of next year. In case of digital, all royalties for PC preorders from November should be reported and paid to the company this year. And royalties for December sales will always be reported and paid to the company at the beginning of next year. So this does not change the whole system. However, the premiere sales will happen in case of digital distribution in December and not in November. Only preorders will happen and then PC will be immediately paid by the end of this year. So this is the change I referred to. Secondly, you asked in your question about revenues being moved to 2021. Yes, definitely. I mean, the time for the game to exist on the market this year will be shortened by 3 weeks. But at the same time, we made an analysis of the sales of The Witcher 3 after the release, and this exercise showed us that vast majority of sales, approximately 90%, happened within the first 4 weeks of -- after the release, the vast majority of the first quarter sales for The Witcher 3. So still within this year, we will have the most important events or situations stimulating the sales. First, the premiere of the game. And secondly, the preholiday season that should also support sales on the market. Therefore, we believe that even though the time window for the game this year, the market is shorter, we will have revenues probably like slightly smaller, but still very much comparable to the initial plan we had. And what's even more important, we are not making this decision, and we are not developing the game with the idea of generating 1 quarter revenue. The whole project is designed to create a game that will sell for years, and that will generate sales for us for years. Like we proved it with The Witcher 3 with The Witcher 2 and with The Witcher 1 that is still selling at the levels comparing to the premiere of The Witcher 1 at a very high value. So the same is with Cyberpunk. Obviously, it's somehow affected this year, but the decision to focus on quality should support the long-term sales of the game. The second question was about the expenses. Definitely, we'll need to rethink the marketing campaign, reschedule it a bit to cover this release window in December. And such rescheduling will have most probably involve some increase of the expenses for our marketing. But it's too early to show exactly how much the marketing budget will increase. We've made the decision really refresh. The decision is really fresh, and we are working on rescheduling the marketing campaign as it goes right now.
Matthew Walker
analystSorry, can I just clarify 2 things? What happens to the cash flow from the console, the digital console sales, when does that come in? And could I just double check that you said The Witcher 3, 90% of the sales came in when you released it, 90% came in the first quarter, so the first 4 weeks, sorry.
Piotr Nielubowicz
executiveYes. We released The Witcher 3 in the middle of the quarter, and it enjoyed exactly 6 weeks of sales by the end of the premiere quarter. And during the first 4 weeks out of the 6 weeks, approximately 90% of the total first quarter sales occurred. So that's what I wanted to say. As far as the cash from digital console sales is concerned, it should arrive on our bank accounts at the beginning of next year.
Operator
operatorOur next question is coming from Adrien de Saint Hilaire with Bank of America.
Adrien de Saint Hilaire
analystYes. So my first question is, can you disclose anything in terms of the level of preorders for the game, either on PC or somewhere else? And does the delay change anything in terms of your unit expectations? My second question is, given your comments around the quality of the game, I'm just curious what sort of Metacritic score would you be disappointed with? And then my third question is, in order to boost sales for the game in December, will you consider doing a bit more aggressive discounts? And is there a risk that the average selling price is a bit lower perhaps than people would imagine?
Adam Kicinski
executiveHello. Adam Kicinski again. I'll take the first one. We cannot -- we can't say too much about preorders, but we can share that the ratio between preorders for Witcher 3 at the same stage and preorders for Cyberpunk is continuously very satisfying. So we are happy with preorders, and we are looking forward to the final stage as majority of preorders is always done the very final stage. And about expectations. Metacritic expectations, maybe this, Michal will cover, but there was something in the first question as well regarding preorder sales.
Adrien de Saint Hilaire
analystYes.
Adam Kicinski
executiveWe think the 21-day move shouldn't change anything. I mean, it just moves sales. And we really think about sales in the long term. And this is secured by quality and nothing else matters. So having better quality, having better initial reaction to the game always works in favor for sales. So that's why we are delaying because as I said, we don't have to, but we believe that having this extra time gives us -- even more -- gives us more secure -- I mean, more sureness that everything is at it should be in the game, which will be released on 10th of December. Michal, maybe you can cover the second one.
Michal Nowakowski
executiveSure. This is Michal Nowakowski again. So when it comes to Metacritic, we continuously aim at the 90-plus game. So nothing has changed here. And this still is the goal. This still is the target. And as Adam mentioned, this is actually one of the reasons -- the main reason why we are actually moving that day because we want to give an extra polish. We'd rather be slightly ashamed right now in front of you than be ashamed in front of the players once the game releases. So that gives the quality and gives the sale. Now in terms of average selling price, whether there's going to be some more aggressive program or something, the answer is no. This was not the plan when we were planning to launch on the 19th of November. This is still not the plan on the 10th of December. We're -- we believe, for a premium title that's really coveted by the players, and there's definitely no need to give any extra incentives. I think everybody who's going to be working on selling this game, retail and digital platforms, are going to be happy with what the game can make once the game is going to start selling.
Adrien de Saint Hilaire
analystIf I could just ask one follow-up is, are you going to spend a bit more around advertising and marketing to maybe cover for the sort of negative PR of the first days? Or is the marketing budget unchanged?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveThere is going to be some extra supporting budget for sure to account for the change date. Yes, there's going to be some extra spend.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Matti Littunen with Bernstein.
Matti Littunen
analystA couple of questions left. The first one, it's quite rare to get a delay after the gold certification for the game. Does this -- with a lot of copies sold digitally, does this still bring any logistical issues with it? Or is it just a question of having a bigger day 1 patch? And then the other question I had was on the changed release schedule for the Stadia version. So I understand that it was recently pushed earlier to coincide with the launch on all the other platforms. Now you mentioned the challenge of launching 9 sort of versions at the same time. So could you explain that decision in light of this delay?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveOkay. So Michal Nowakowski again. So just to be sure I understand the first question correctly. Is your answers -- is your -- sorry, not answer -- is your question whether the delay after gold has something to do with the logistic issues or -- sorry.
Matti Littunen
analystWhether it brings any logistical issues with it that, you know...
Michal Nowakowski
executiveNo. Okay. So -- okay, I understand. So yes, it brings certain issues because, of course, we're not releasing the stock to the retail, we're not releasing the stock to the distributors as was planned per the 19th of November. But it's not really a huge, huge challenge. It's more, I would say, warehousing issue rather than anything else. And no transports have been moved from the warehouses and so on. So there is nothing really complex going on in the background. There is no people making crazy calls trying to do something about that. It's really just keeping the stock in the warehouse, and that's pretty much it. So yes, it is kind of an issue per se, but nothing really complicated, nothing really challenging. Now about the release on Stadia, again, could you rephrase? Because you broke up a little bit, and I didn't hear exactly what was the question. I mean, the release on Stadia, what the -- I heard till the point when you said that we moved it to be at the same time when the regular launch was supposed to happen so 19th of November and I didn't hear what was the actual core of the question.
Matti Littunen
analystYes. Just in the context of you saying about the challenge on launching 9 platforms at the same time, could you explain that the decision to make the Stadia launch a bit earlier in this context? So why not keep it after the launch of the other versions to alleviate with this strain on the QA and engineering teams?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveOkay. I understand. What Stadia -- actually, Stadia doesn't really affect the complexity of the issues. I mean, the things we're fixing with the performance are really much, much, much higher than just Stadia. Stadia is really kind of a PC build, which, as Adam mentioned in the very beginning, it's pretty much ready. So it really doesn't add up. That's why we were able to move it to the PC, but the polish either to fix all the bugs that we're seeing, all the quality issues that we're still facing, and we just see that we cannot fix them by the 19th. This is the main and only reason but we're moving the date to the 10th of December.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] We will take our next question from Robert Florczykowski with PKO TFI.
Robert Florczykowski
analystA few ones actually. So first, you said that the game is kind of ready for the next-gen consoles and the PC. And this is -- and the issue is just about the current generation. So can you maybe say a few words of whether you've kind of considered maybe splitting the launch date by new gen or current gen? And the other one is can you confirm whether the situation is just about optimizing so that the game works on current generation efficiently? Or are there also some kind of glitches that needs to be taken care of over the last -- those last 3 weeks before the launch?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveOkay. I'll take this. It's Michal Nowakowski. So I'll start with the release date. We have not considered split in the release date. We're big believers in serving everything at the same time. It's much more reasonable from the perspective of how the team operates, how the team works. And it's also convenient from the market perspective. So no, the answer here is no. I would also want to make a comment because you mentioned that the game is prepared for the next gen. It's ready to be played on the next gen. It's an important distinction because, of course, our true next-gen version is going to come later. But yes, the game can be played, but I just wanted to be sure that it's understood or not misunderstood, I would say we -- that this is a next-gen version. Now when you ask about the optimization and so on, I mean, games of that complexity of that magnitude, they always have some bugs upon release. This is understood. This is commonplace. Everybody who played any big game out there like GTA, RDR, Witcher 3, any of the big games, everybody knows there's bound to be some bugs. It's about the quality and the quantity of these bugs. And this is really the only issue we're facing. So of course, we're going to continue improving and working on the game once it launches, past the day launch. That was the case with Witcher 3, as everybody knows. But it's the launch moment, which we want to have, where people will not be pestered by something that is going to be a truly problematic for them. We want them to avoid those kind of situations. We want them to enjoy the ride in Night Cities. And so coming back to your question, yes, it's basically optimization and the time necessary for that and all the challenges related to that. But there's no other, I don't know, hidden story here.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Tomasz Rodak with BOS Brokerage.
Tomasz Rodak
analystYes. I just want to ask 3 questions. Do you have to pay any contractual fees due to the delay to, I don't know, to distributors or marketing providers due to delaying so close to the debut? And the second question is about preorders. I wonder what happens to preorders in case of a delay. Are they automatically canceled in some stores? Do you know any stores, any channels that canceled preorders due to a delay? And then the third question, you said that the ratio between preorders for Cyberpunk and for The Witcher 3 is very satisfying. And I wonder if this justifies 3x bigger marketing campaign that you said you're doing for Cyberpunk.
Michal Nowakowski
executiveOkay. So I can take the first 2. The contractual fees to -- sorry, it's Michal Nowakowski again. The contractual fees due to delay, there is no penalties in our contracts that we will be facing from any of our partners. Is there any other part of that question? I'm trying to think -- I see the room and there was something else. Was it about the penalties from the retail? I think maybe...
Tomasz Rodak
analystThe penalty.
Michal Nowakowski
executiveJust the partners, no, no, there is no penalty from the partners. I mean, the move is -- it's really not that big in terms of time. It's 3 weeks. So yes, I mean, of course, it's going to impact the time we have to sell actively within this calendar year. That's pretty obvious. But it really doesn't change the expectations towards the game, the hype, the buzz around that. It's still something that is in place. So no, there is no -- not only there is a contractual fee. There is no contractual, I would say, penalties. There's also no one asking for any kind of penalties. In terms of preorders getting canceled, this is really super specific to every channel. So if a channel -- it depends on the channel policy. We don't really control channels that we don't control the particular retailers, what is their policies. However, I know for a fact that there is no retailer that actually cancel automatically all of the preorders, something of the kind. There might be some retailers that offer you preorder cancellation until the moment of launch. But frankly speaking, this is something that you can do typically with a preorder without a situation like that. I mean if you wanted to cancel the preorder of our game at Amazon yesterday without the news that you are aware of today, you could have done it without any hassle whatsoever. So this is more of a typical practice. You can cancel preorder at any moment in time before the game actually launches and ships. So nothing has changed in regard to that. If anything, yes, there may be some people who would actually cancel a preorder right now because, for example, of -- I don't know, they get tired, but we still think we can win this people back, so as we were talking before. The third one, I will actually hand over to Adam.
Adam Kicinski
executiveSo the simple answer is yes. I mean, all data we have. Internal and external justifies the size of the marketing campaign. And actually, we might sound not very happy today because it was a tough decision, but on the other hand, we are really sure that we have something amazing in our hands, as I said. And we truly believe that once the game is released, everyone will understand how difficult it was and how great the game is. And then all those bitter pills we had to swallow on the way will be just a small thing compared to the satisfaction we'll have. So don't get us wrong. I mean, we are kind of, internally, on one hand, of course, stressed. We would prefer to release on 19, definitely. But on the other hand, we feel very, very strong with the game.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Anton Khmelnitski with Elbrus Capital Management.
Anton Khmelnitski
analystMy question relates to the momentum maybe of console sales that may play a bigger role this time around. Do you think that the recent deterioration in economic outlook due to the pandemic might have affected the potential sales due to people may be less incentivized to buy as early as November and maybe by moving closer the date to Christmas you're optimizing perhaps the potential sales?
Piotr Nielubowicz
executiveIt's hard to exactly estimate the influence of the pandemic situation for sales. What we know from the months of March and April was that basically, it was kind of a tailwind for the video gaming industry. Video games were among those limited number of entertainment that people could enjoy at home, and it's especially boost in the digital space. So if the situation repeats also at the end of this year, this could be kind of supportive element for the game. But I do not think that it depends upon how the release happening in November or December, right? How the pandemic will start slowly going away from us. And that's not the place where we look for sales support in case of Cyberpunk.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Robert Berg with Berenberg.
Robert Berg
analystJust one question left for me. I think some people would have thought 3 weeks before the game is quite late in the process to delay a game. But as we head towards the new December 10 date, when do you really need to make a final decision that everything will be ready for that date? When do you believe it's physically too late to delay a game further? Is that 2 weeks before, 1 week? And just so that -- when can we get comfortable that the game is definitely coming out?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveSorry, this is Michal Nowakowski. We're not really analyzing it this way because we don't see such thing happening, to be honest. I mean -- and I do realize that you actually heard it from us before, but this is pretty close to launch. And well, as we mentioned several times, the game is ready. It's -- you can actually walk through the whole game. People have done it, a number of people around the world, actually that we're giving the access to the game. It's really about making sure that the performance and glitches are gone. So there is no analysis like that at all. We just haven't thought about that.
Robert Berg
analystOkay. So basically, now we can be comfortable with the game is definitely coming out December 10, is what you're saying?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveThat's more or less what I'm saying, I guess, yes.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from Ken Rumph with Jefferies.
Kenneth Rumph
analystA couple of questions. One was just to clear up the next-gen point that, as I understand it, the game will come out on the 10th playable on, say, a PS5, but the actual optimized next-gen version is still scheduled for the first quarter of next year for both Xbox and PS5? Second question is, does this have a knock-on effect on DLCs? I mean, I guess the large parts of the studio can be working on those, but still the engineering and the QA guys are clearly very busy with this and they're busier for longer than you would have expected. So does this potentially affect the timing of DLCs, of which we expect, I think, at least 3? Correct me on that.
Adam Kicinski
executiveSo with next-gen, what we are releasing now is the current gen version, which can be played on the next-gen consoles, thanks to the backward compatibility, but without specific features, next-gen specific features. But next gens, as strong machines, can play like very strong -- I mean at fairly strong PC. So it has more memory, much faster access to the disc and so on and so on. So the console version played on the next gen, I mean it looks great, I mean, instantly. And next year, we are releasing full-blown next-gen version, not -- maybe not optimized for next gens, but with next-gen features implemented. So fully implemented next-gen version, which won't be like this one, just emulation of the current gen. The impact on expansions, we expect no impact. Fortunately, those who are finishing the game, those who are now involved in those final processes are not required in this stage of development of expansion. So we don't expect that it will influence anything in our further schedules.
Operator
operatorOur final question comes from Piotr Lopaciuk with EKO PD (sic) [ PKO BP ].
Piotr Lopaciuk
analystYou mentioned that the problem is with the current-gen consoles. Is the problem different for Xbox and PS5? Because PS5 is -- sorry, PS4, which is like rumored to be a bit stronger machine? Or is it like very similar for both consoles?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveThis is Michal Nowakowski again. First of all, I wouldn't say there is a problem because there's nothing wrong with the Xbox or PS4 versions. There is optimization to be handled also because of how we were approaching things from the get-go in terms of the development. So there is no problem with the Xbox or PlayStation 4 to be on it. Now in terms of the issues, I don't think there is much point in going there. Yes, there are some issues, which are similar. I'm not going to go for the full bug report here to be because that's probably pointless. But let's put it like this. There is some issues which are common for both platforms. There is some issues, which are slightly different. So it's a mixed bag really. But it's something that be handled that can be done, and that's something that we're currently working on. It's a huge game. So there's a lot of things to be tackled, which is the underlying reason before behind the conversation we're having today.
Piotr Lopaciuk
analystMy question was related to the rumor from 1 year before, I think, which said that there is some problem with optimization for Xbox. But as I understand, this is not related, yes?
Michal Nowakowski
executiveThis was a total hoax, fake rumor. So that I can say, that I can state, but otherwise, it's just regular work to be done on both platforms.
Adam Kicinski
executiveAnd I can add one more thing, Adam Kicinski here. Having the game certified means, it's optimized. I mean, it works. But it's a big game, and what we are going to do in those next couple of weeks is to make it as good as it could be on this generation. So we are trying to bump everything as much as possible.
Operator
operatorThat concludes today's question-and-answer session. Mr. Kicinski, at this time, I will turn the conference to you for any closing remarks.
Adam Kicinski
executiveThank you, everybody. Tomorrow, we are available to take any follow-up questions you may have. Please contact our IR team directly via e-mail or via phone. Thank you very much and our Q3 results. Bye-bye.
Operator
operatorThank you, and thank you all for your attention. This concludes today's conference. You may now disconnect.
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