The studio behind Cyberpunk 2077 talks about the disastrous launch of the game, the new expansion “Phantom Liberty” and changes within the studio.
What was the launch of Cyberpunk like again? The action RPG Cyberpunk 2077 was supposed to be the next big hit from the Polish developer CD Projekt after The Witcher 3. Instead, it turned out differently:
After several delays, the once “hottest game of the year” barely made it out in December, but the release was overshadowed by performance issues.
Especially on older consoles, the game was considered almost unplayable, Sony pulled it from the PS Store and offered refunds. CD Projekt Red also had to face multiple class-action lawsuits. For a studio of this caliber, it was a significant disgrace.
How is Cyberpunk doing today? The game currently stands at a respectable 83% ratings within the last 30 days and is said to be quite good. With Phantom Liberty, the first major expansion is set to be released in 2023.
At the Summer Game Fest, GamesIndustry.biz spoke with Michał Platkow-Gilewski from CD Projekt Red about how he experienced the launch and what lessons were learned from it.
CD Projekt learned lessons from the launch disaster
This is how Platkow-Gilewski sees the situation: The PR spokesperson says they are now at a pretty good point, but the road there has been difficult. After the disastrous release, they knew it would take a lot of work to bounce back.
According to Platkow-Gilewski, there has been a major restructuring at CD Projekt. The changes were overdue anyway, according to the PR spokesperson. The situation surrounding Cyberpunk, however, was additional motivation, a wake-up call.
To release Cyberpunk on time, many people had to work countless overtime, the notorious crunch. Now they are working on improvements, and there is even a dedicated team for this:
We are in the process of improving, restructuring, and redesigning the studio on so many levels that it is hard to say exactly what is happening. But the work-life balance, the way we collaborate, how we empower smaller teams, how pipelines look, how we communicate with management, all that… it is constantly changing.
Is there a big fresh start coming soon?
For Platkow-Gilewski, the disappointing aspect of the release was apparently that they had let the community down. Two years before the big hype, they were in a good place, according to the PR spokesperson: “We had our fans. We liked them, they liked us.”
The relationship was damaged by the launch, but the PR spokesperson believes it can be repaired:
It was hard after the release, but I knew we still had the same people. The gamers are the same… we just need to repair our relationship. […] I feel that we will soon be able to do that and hopefully it will be a fresh start for everyone.
Platkow-Gilewski is confident that with the expansion, they can finally deliver what they are actually capable of. At the moment, he is just eager to see what people say when they play Phantom Liberty.
For the expansion, actor Idris Elba is also involved. This is to show that it is not a small side mission, but a standalone and significant story. Other franchises are also relying on star power:
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