Here we are again writing and reading about a new development in the ongoing saga of Cyberpunk 2077 getting its shit together in real time. Developer CD Projekt Red has released a five-minute long video of co-founder Marcin Iwiński addressing the state of its latest open world RPG, and trying to be more transparent about the development process and why the game launched in the state it did.
The statement titled “Our Commitment to Quality” (oof) has Iwinski and the studio’s board of directors taking responsibility for Cyberpunk 2077’s buggy state, especially on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There is, notably, no such apology for the transphobia and racism, but I guess we can’t expect anyone to apologize for actual problems perpetuated by the game’s world when there are bigger issues like, uh, hold on let me check my notes here…people’s dicks clipping through their pants?
Since there are obviously a lot of maintenance and technical issues for CD Projekt Red to address following launch, all Cyberpunk 2077’s post-launch content is taking a backseat to making the game run better across the board. This includes free content updates that were originally planned for “early 2021,” and the next-gen upgrade for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The studio is now targeting the second half of the year for that update, and if nothing else, getting Cyberpunk 2077 to run better on PS4 and Xbox One might at least ensure a stable launch on the newer systems. To lay out all the planned changes, CD Projekt Red released this infographic that is so lacking in clarity I’m afraid to even speculate for fear of misrepresenting Cyberpunk 2077’s future any more than this roadmap does. Would have been helpful to have at least labeled seasons? Quarters of the year? Months if you were feeling generous?
Also here (and in the written Q&A version of the whole thing), Iwiński talks about crunch and whether or not CD Projekt Red will be requiring its employees to work overtime to get these fixes and updates out the door. Regarding this, the studio says “the team is working to bring relevant fixes to the game without any obligatory overtime. Avoiding crunch on all of our future projects is one of our top priorities.” While that’s a lovely sentiment, it was the same promise Iwiński made before the company eventually required overtime in the final months of Cyberpunk 2077’s development. Actions speak louder than words, and the studio’s actions spoke loud and clear leading up to launch.
You can watch the full statement reading below:
More Cyberpunk 2077:
- Every Explanation for Cyberpunk 2077’s Bisexual Erasure Fucking Sucks
- I Wish Cyberpunk 2077’s Ending Was in a Better Game
- Cyberpunk 2077 Review Podcast
In the meantime, if you’re still unwilling to wait for the updates to come, you can still get a refund for Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles should you feel so inclined. Both Microsoft and Sony are making exceptions given the size of the game’s launch and breadth of issues people have had getting the game to run on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
