Cyberpunk 2077’s rough launch didn’t deter CD Projekt Red from moving forward to make the game better, says director
The game director says previous patches were “all culminating in the plan” for update 2.0
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Despite its disastrous launch, CD Projekt Red never thought about quitting development onCyberpunk 2077.
That’s according toCyberpunk 2077director Gabe Amatangelo, who took on the role in May 2021, who said in an interview withPC Gamerthat the team never planned to stop working on the game before the release ofupdate 2.0- a patch that has come to completely overhaul the original game.
“Part of my conversation at the beginning with my boss and the board was: I believe in the team, I believe in this IP, but I want to do it right. And I’m going to need the support to do that,” Amatangelo said. “And they’re like, yes, you have the support.”
Cyberpunk 2077launched in December 2020 to considerable criticism, mainly due to the game’s bad performance on every available platform, unless you had a high-end PC. The game was received so negatively thatSonyevenremoved it from the PlayStation storeand offered full refunds to players.
It wasn’t until February 2022, that CD Projekt Red releasedpatch 1.5, which introduced significant enhancements to the game for current-gen consoles. Amatangelo said that 1.5 and the following updates were the groundwork that eventually culminated in 2.0.
“The groundwork we laid in 1.5, and 1.6 was all culminating in the plan in 2.0,” he explained. “It was mapped out. Loosely mapped out, and it got more refined over time, but it was mapped out.
“You can see some of it with the slight AI improvements in 1.5 - that was built upon to get to 2.0. The [thinking was] ‘what are the gaps, and how do we fill those gaps to do the complete experience that hopefully everyone imagined and wants to play?'”
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Along with the release of the game’s expansion,Phantom Liberty, update 2.0 has been received incredibly well despite its rough launch and has essentially madeCyberpunk 2077into a completely new game; the RPG even saw amassive boost in players on Steamshortly after the DLC’s release.
CD Projekt Red has also confirmed that no matter how wellCyberpunk 2077:Phantom Libertyand patch 2.0 have been received,they will be the final major updates to the game as the developer shifts its focus towards a sequel.
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