The Polish team has also delayed Cyberpunk’s next-gen versions so that it wouldn’t be shoddy on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series (which it was on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at launch).
Another statement came from CD Projekt RED (shortened to CDPR onwards), revealing their Commitment to Quality approach. In short, CDPR has hugely underestimated the task of first making the game look „epic” on PCs, and only then adjusting it for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The in-game streaming (between the optical disc, hard drive/SSD, RAM, GPU, and CPU) needed constant improvement on the 2013 consoles, which was the main culprit that made development for consoles difficult. Also, internal testing did not show many of the issues experienced by players post-launch. (More eyes can see more.) The PC review keys of Cyberpunk 2077 were sent out in the first week of December, while console review keys were sent out on December 8, only two days before the December 10 launch! CDPR was „still working hard to improve the quality of the game on” PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and they claim every extra day „brought visible improvement.” That’s their excuse for the console review copies’ delay.
Their top priority since launch as been to fix the game’s bugs. Three hotfixes have already been released, which are only „just the beginning,” quoting their words. Their main focus is bug-, and crash fixes. Patches (both small and large) will be released regularly, including one by January 23, followed by a larger and more significant patch in the weeks after. (Would that be the big January patch? Or is it the February one…?) The planned free DLC will still arrive in early 2021, but for now, the studio is prioritizing bug fixes (and without necessary/obligatory overtime work) – DLC comes after.
Cyberpunk 2077’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series version will launch in the second half of 2021, and it will be a free update within the same console family for those who own the game on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Meanwhile, CDPR is working with Sony Interactive Entertainment to bring the game back to the PlayStation Store. Finally, the studio confirmed that the first wave of reimbursements as part of the „Help Me Refund” initiative have been sent out.
The lesson is that CDPR has rushed the launch of the game so Cyberpunk 2077 can cash in on the holiday rush. However, with this move, they lost the trust of the players, which will be hard to be regained.
Source: Gematsu
