Cyberpunk has left gamers feeling Cyberpunk'd(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)
2021 was disastrous year for many reasons, but in the world of gaming, the story on everyone's lips was the botched release of one of the most hyped games of all time, Cyberpunk 2077. Riddled with bugs and eventually pulled from the PlayStation store, it's fair to say the game, released in December, didn't quite live up to expectations.
In an attempt to explain the debacle, CD Projekt Red's co-founder Marcin Iwiński has appeared in a video posted to Twitter. But the candid mea culpa has ended up raising more questions than answers. (If you're looking for a bug-free experience, check out the best Nintendo Switch games.)
Dear gamers,Below, you’ll find CD PROJEKT’s co-founder’s personal explanation of what the days leading up to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 looked like, sharing the studio’s perspective on what happened with the game on old-generation consoles. pic.twitter.com/XjdCKizewqJanuary 13, 2021
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"The console version of Cyberpunk 2077 didn't meet the quality standard we wanted it to meet," Iwiński admits. "I, and the entire leadership team, are deeply sorry for this, and this video is me publicly owning up to that. Myself and the board are the final decision-makers, and it was our call to release the game."
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But as well as apologising, Iwiński drops the bombshell that the next generation version (for PS5 and Xbox Series X) won't be released until at least "the second half of the year". Hyped as one of the most ambitious and visually impressive showcases of next generation gaming, it's a little confusing to learn that Cyberpunk 2077 will only exist as a previous-generation game for potentially the entire first year of its life.
Speaking of confusing, the team at development company CD Projekt Red also shared roadmap (below) for when future updates (read: bug fixes) for Cyberpunk 2077 will be released. Which all sounds well and good – except for the fact that it's a timeline without any actual dates, leading us to wonder when we'll ever get to enjoy the intended Cyberpunk experience.
For more details about the progress being made on Cyberpunk 2077’s further development, including information about updates and improvements, free DLCs, and more, please visit https://t.co/vfY3xxCM1G pic.twitter.com/6U28q8pcVHJanuary 13, 2021
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Frustratingly, it seems Cyberpunk 2077 should have been one of the most beautiful games ever made. From the developer behind the jaw-dropping The Witcher games, it promised a rich, ambitiously detailed open-world dystopia. But as the litany of distracting (and often hilarious) bugs prove, the game simply wasn't ready for release last year. No wonder Sony, Microsoft and Steam are all offering refunds for the game.
Still, with enough updates, perhaps the game will end up fulfilling its potential one day – but in the light of CD PROJEKT's vague roadmap, the question is still very much: when? That said, with the PS5 itself like gold dust right now (here's our PS5 restock guide for the best places to find one right now), perhaps by the time you get hold of one, Cyberpunk 2077 will have finally hit next-gen consoles. Whether or not it'll actually be playable is another question entirely.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
