The open world of Cyberpunk 2077 has many parallels to GTA V. CD Projekt Red has already announced that the multiplayer will be a major standalone production. MeinMMO author Florian Franck therefore believes that the multiplayer of Cyberpunk 2077 will be like GTA Online.
This is my personal experience in both games: I never finished the single-player campaign in GTA V, but spent a few hours alone in Los Santos. For me, the multiplayer, GTA Online, was more attractive and entertaining.
I spent hours completing various heists with friends and never really thought about the single-player. The success of GTA Online has become a steady source of revenue for Rockstar over the years.
Despite all the problems of Cyberpunk, I have already spent many hours in Night City and have found that Cyberpunk 2077 could be the perfect successor to GTA 5 Online. Currently, I spend most of my time in Night City completing side missions and discovering new quests while wandering through the city.
The parallels between Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA V
After the release of Cyberpunk 2077 on December 10, I extensively explored Night City. I pursue the story whenever I need Eddies. Eddies are the virtual currency in Cyberpunk and stand for Eurodollars.
The story of Cyberpunk is a masterpiece. CD Projekt Red can tell stories – they have already proven this with The Witcher 3. The same goes for Rockstar, who have demonstrated that they can deliver stories of the highest quality with the GTA series and Red Dead Redemption.
The immersion in Cyberpunk 2077 is incomparable, unless bugs and glitches ruin it. During a tour through Night City in my newly acquired vehicle, I wondered whether, for example, the traffic lights in multiplayer would be synchronized.
The thought of a multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077 kept me engaged, and I drew parallels to GTA Online. The more I thought about it, the clearer it became to me that the online mode of Cyberpunk 2077 would be like GTA Online.
These parallels exist: In Night City, similar to Los Santos, it’s about money and power. Everywhere in Cyberpunk 2077 there are Ripperdocs who implant and sell cyberware, weapon, clothing, and equipment dealers have their own shops or sell their goods in dark alleys. In GTA V, various workshops and sellers offer their goods in Los Santos.
V, the main character in Cyberpunk 2077, constantly receives calls and messages on his smartphone. Similar things happen in GTA Online. Calls and messages reach the player every second.
On the streets or in special clubs, Joytoys offer sexual services for Eddies in Cyberpunk. This is also possible in GTA V, just honk and the ladies of the world’s oldest profession get in the vehicle.
Without cyberware and the scenario in the distant future, Cyberpunk would strongly resemble the GTA series, particularly regarding the quests and opportunities that Night City offers the player.
Cyberpunk 2077 will do many things right with multiplayer
Why I believe the multiplayer will be like GTA Online: Night City strongly reminds me of a futuristic Los Santos.
Vs phone rings nonstop, I constantly receive messages offering me missions or vehicles and at every corner a gang tries to kill me as soon as I get out of the car and come too close to them.
All of this strongly reminds me of GTA V and the online mode. The purchase of weapons, vehicles, and new equipment seems refined and well thought out. Some mission areas and buildings are already “instanced” in Cyberpunk.
In Vs apartment, you can only access it via an elevator, conversely, the street can only be reached by taking the elevator from Vs apartment. In GTA Online, the character’s own apartment is also only accessible via the elevator.
What else supports this: Further indications can be found at Ripperdocs, bars and clubs as well as some missions. These areas can often only be accessed through a door. This makes it look, upon closer inspection, like an own instance in the single-player.
Mission such as smuggling items for various factions or serving as a “helper sheriff” are common in Cyberpunk. Many missions could be played in multiplayer without changes.
To me, Cyberpunk 2077 already looks like a multiplayer title. Except for the fact that none of my friends are there to complete missions together.
And with a little luck, I might soon get kidnapped to a Cyberpunk online date, just like MeinMMO author Eilyn Rapp experienced in GTA Online.
What is already known about the multiplayer
Adam Kiciński, CEO of CD Projekt Red, answered questions from investors during an investor call on November 25, 2020. The multiplayer of Cyberpunk 2077 is referred to as a major production, a product that stands alone.
The multiplayer will be similar to the single-player world of Cyberpunk and both are closely linked. A release date is not yet known; CD Projekt Red has already announced that more information will be released in the first quarter of 2021. During this period, they will present further plans for Cyberpunk 2077.
CD Projekt Red could use the core of Cyberpunk 2077 for the multiplayer
A logical step for CD Projekt Red would be to use the core of Cyberpunk 2077 for the standalone online mode. This means that Cyberpunk Online will not be built from scratch, but will run on the basis of Cyberpunk 2077.
The core of the game will be used and the online functionalities will be built around the existing core. Some perks, such as slowing down time, will fall victim to the multiplayer. Also, when scanning enemies, time will continue normally.
Parallels can also be drawn here to the Fallout series, where V.A.T.S. slowed down time in the single-player and made better aiming possible. With Fallout 76, this slow motion was no longer possible. However, V.A.T.S. itself is an essential part of Fallout and was implemented in Fallout 76 without slow motion.
It would be beneficial if CD Projekt Red then released Cyberpunk Online separately from the main game. Rockstar has taken a similar approach with Red Dead Online since December 1. The online mode of Red Dead Redemption 2 was released as a standalone game alongside the main game.
New content can be released for both the main game and the online mode independently of each other. As far as is currently known, Cyberpunk Online will be its own project.
The current problems of Cyberpunk 2077: After the disastrous launch, especially on consoles, the Polish developer studio has come under massive criticism. After a class-action lawsuit was filed against CD Projekt Red in California, the company recently addressed the allegations in a statement.
On PS4 and Xbox One, Cyberpunk 2077 is partially unplayable: Bugs, glitches, crashes, and FPS drops caused a lot of frustration for buyers, and Sony felt compelled to remove the game from the store and offered refunds to all buyers.
