Cyberpunk 2077 was undoubtedly the most anticipated video game of the last decade. Developed by CD Projekt Red, the studio behind the acclaimed Witcher saga, Cyberpunk sparked unprecedented expectations among players. However, its problematic development and disastrous launch in 2020 led to one of the biggest fiascos in the history of the industry. How could this happen with a title that promised to revolutionize the world of video games?
It all began in 2012, when CD Projekt Red surprised the world by announcing that they were working on Cyberpunk 2077, an ambitious open world RPG set in a futuristic cyberpunk universe. The announcement included an impressive cinematic trailer that left fans speechless. However, at that time the game was only at a conceptual stage.
CD Projekt Red spent the following years developing and launching The Witcher 3, which would become one of the most acclaimed RPGs of all time. It was not until 2016 that actual production of Cyberpunk 2077 began, with an unsuitable game engine for the type of game and constant replanning of the design. This resulted in a chaotic development plagued with setbacks.
Despite this, in 2018 CD Projekt Red generated hype again by presenting a playable demo of Cyberpunk 2077 at E3. The nearly 50-minute demo showed an incredibly ambitious game, with a colossal futuristic city, deep character customization, vehicle driving and impressive first-person shootouts. What the public did not know is that this demo did not represent the actual state of the game, but an idealized vision of what the studio hoped to achieve.
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A year later, at E3 2019, Keanu Reeves appeared on stage to confirm his participation in Cyberpunk 2077. The actor would be Johnny Silverhand, a key character in the story. This surprising revelation unleashed total madness among fans and caused expectations for the game to skyrocket to stratospheric levels. CD Projekt Red also confirmed the release date: April 16, 2020. None of the developers believed it would be possible to meet that deadline.
Indeed, the game suffered several delays, until it was finally set for December 10, 2020. But even with these delays, Cyberpunk 2077 was released in a disastrous state, especially on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. The game had bugs galore, terrible optimization, serious bugs, and lamentable performance with FPS below 20. Thousands of players requested refunds and Sony even removed the game from the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red was forced to issue apologies and promise fixes.
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How could such a fiasco happen with one of the most anticipated games in history? According to several reports, there were management-level problems, with constant changes in design and promised features that were later discarded. In addition, switching from a third-person to a first-person perspective forced parts of the gameplay to be reconsidered. But the biggest problem was CD Projekt Red's insistence on launching the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, even when it became clear that these consoles could not run it properly.
Subsequent patches and updates have significantly improved the state of the game. But for many, the damage was already done. Cyberpunk 2077 will go down in history as one of the industry's worst releases. However, it also served as a wake-up call for other studios not to make the same mistakes. And despite everything, the game managed to sell over 20 million copies.
Ironically, in 2022 Cyberpunk 2077 experienced a resurgence thanks to the release of the Edgerunners anime on Netflix. The excellent animated series, set in the video game's universe, won over millions of viewers and prompted many to give the controversial CD Projekt Red title a chance. In this way, Cyberpunk 2077 underwent a revival that no one expected.
The story of Cyberpunk 2077 teaches us several valuable lessons. On the one hand, it reminds us that players should not get carried away by the hype and wait to see the final product before buying. On the other hand, it shows that releasing a game prematurely, just to meet scheduled dates, is often counterproductive. And finally, it demonstrates that even the most respected studios can fail miserably if they do not properly take care of all aspects of development.
Cyberpunk 2077 will go down in history as an iconic game, not only for its qualities, but also for serving as a warning about how problematic development can ruin even the most anticipated release. With its lights and shadows, this ambitious CD Projekt Red title has left us great lessons that will shape the future of the video game industry.