Cyberpunk 2077’s greatest days should be forward however developer CD Projekt Red introduced at this time it’s now shifting focus and assets away to different tasks, together with its new open-world Witcher recreation. While the beleaguered sci-fi shooter will nonetheless get a narrative enlargement in 2023, it doesn’t sound like will probably be getting any extra main overhauls sooner or later.
“We will clearly proceed supporting Cyberpunk 2077 and nonetheless engaged on updating it however [the] huge a part of the job we imagine has already been finished and was finished in 2021,” the corporate mentioned throughout at this time’s earnings name. It additionally shared a presentation slide exhibiting how growth assets have shifted over time, with “assist for Cyberpunk 2077” changing into one of many smallest segments as of February 2022.
That was round when CDPR launched the PS5 and Xbox Series X variations of the sport, in addition to patch 1.5, which added a ton of recent fixes, rebalanced rewards and ability bushes, and expanded relationships with sure NPCs. Many of the enhancements immediately addressed earlier criticisms of the sport, and I’ve not too long ago been having fun with diving again into the most recent model.
At the identical time, patch 1.5 struck me as the halfway level in Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption arc slightly than a last victory lap. There are elements of the sport I really like after which there are the elements the place the simulation nonetheless often breaks and shatters any sense of immersion. CDPR didn’t say the open-world RPG received’t ever get one other patch on that scale, however all indicators level to growth winding down in relation to any deeper revamp of how the sport performs or is structured. That may not be a retreat a lot as a concession to the bounds of what the sport is.
If so, a No Man’s Sky or Final Fantasy XIV-style comeback may not be within the playing cards in spite of everything. During its tough 2020 launch, together with a PS4 model that was so unhealthy Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store, Cyberpunk bought 13 million copies. Today, CDPR introduced it solely bought one other 5 million within the 16 months since. Currently, that places whole gross sales barely forward of Super Mario Party and behind God of War, each first-party exclusives. It’s additionally nonetheless severely beneath some analysts’ preliminary projections.
And whereas Cyberpunk 2077’s future remains to be murky, plans for added DLC have additionally appeared to get downgraded over time. CD Projekt president Adam Kiciński had beforehand mentioned the sport would obtain “no much less DLC than The Witcher 3 had,” and that recreation obtained two large and stellar expansions. For that motive, some had initially presumed Cyberpunk 2077 would equally get two main paid DLCs along with smaller free ones, however to date CDPR has solely confirmed one. It will arrive in 2023, the corporate introduced at this time. Further specifics stay elusive. A beforehand deliberate multiplayer element additionally seems to have been solid apart. CDPR didn’t clearly verify what its destiny was when requested about it throughout at this time’s earnings name, and didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark when requested to make clear its future plans for Cyberpunk 2077.
It’s not stunning that the corporate is raring, within the meantime, to maneuver on to different issues, particularly extra Witcher. CDPR revealed at this time The Witcher 3 has shipped over 40 million copies, with the sequence as an entire promoting over 65 million. As it buckles down on creating the subsequent recreation in that sequence, it additionally has plans for extra updates to Gwent and The Witcher: Monster Slayer, a brand new Gwent spin-off, an unannounced mission on the not too long ago acquired Boston studio, The Molasses Flood, and the next-gen model of The Witcher 3.
That final launch slipped out of this summer season after CDPR revealed yesterday it was taking growth away from Russia-based Saber Interactive and ending it in-house. Despite the shortage of a brand new launch window, the corporate mentioned it was unfair to explain it as “indefinitely delayed,” saying it merely wanted extra time to judge what work was left. “Nobody is saying the sport is delayed in some monumental kind of time hole forward of us,” mentioned Michal Nowakowski, SVP of enterprise growth.
