CD Projekt Red has unveiled its next project to be a new game in The Witcher franchise. The next Witcher will be utilizing Unreal Engine 5, and will serve as the start of a brand-new saga for The Witcher universe. Little else is known about the game besides the fact that Epic Games will be helping with development, and fans are excited to see what CD Projekt Red has in store for Geralt of Rivia. While the studio looks ahead to its next project, it should make sure to also remember what it promised with Cyperpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 was once the most hyped game of 2020, but upon release all of that excitement vanished. CD Projekt Red delivered far less than it promised, and this angered much of its fanbase. The game was marred with bugs, crashes, and failed to live up to the expectation that CD Projekt built for it. It has been two years since release and Cyberpunk 2077 is still not the RPG that CD Projekt set out to create, so it should rectify that before moving onto The Witcher.
The Promise of Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red spent eight years talking about Cyberpunk 2077, and when it released it failed to fulfill many of the promises made. It was made in CD Projekt's REDengine 4 by a team larger than the team that worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and was set to be the studio's biggest game yet. It partnered with many companies like Nvidia to aid in its development, and even hired Keanu Reeves for a starring role.
The game was first announced in May 2012, and trailers were released a year later. The game would not be seen again until E3 2018 and E3 2019. At E3 2019 its release date was revealed to be April 16, 2020, but this was delayed to September 17, then November 19, and finally December 10. The next-gen Cyberpunk 2077 ports were delayed to 2022, and the game was supposed to have a multiplayer feature that has not been added.
Cyberpunk 2077 hit store shelves and had a less-than stellar launch. The PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game were virtually unplayable due to the amount of bugs and crashes. The PC version received favorable reviews for its story, but CD Projekt Red was met with severe outrage, and Sony even removed Cyberpunk 2077 from its digital storefront for a time. Many fans received refunds, and the goodwill that CD Projekt Red had generated with The Witcher 3 was gone. Since then, Cyberpunk 2077 has received patches and updates to fix the game and add things CD Projekt Red promised.
The Missing Content of Cyberpunk 2077
During development of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red made a lot of claims that did not come to fruition. CD Projekt claimed the game would offer a variety of playable classes with their own specialized abilities, but Cyberpunk 2077 only had three backgrounds that were virtually identical.
Before release, CD Projekt Red showcased Night City, the open-world locale that players would be traversing throughout the game. It claimed Night City would use real-time AI to give thousands of NPCs distinct roles. However, players discovered that these NPCs only provided the same responses and completed rote actions on repeat like almost every other open-world game. On top of that, the AI in general was lacking, with issues like police randomly spawning and firing.
Night City was lacking character, and the gameplay was rough around the edges, with many upset about the gunplay and driving mechanics. Once the story was finished, there was little more to do. Instead of providing an immersive city to explore, the game did not give people a reason to continue playing.
CD Projekt Red Has a Long Way to Go With Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red has fixed a lot of bugs and made the game more playable on console, albeit not on the same level of the PC version. Night City has also become more immersive with a better police network, more realistic NPCs, and various tweaked systems. The AI enemies react better to the player, the economy received a rework, and there is more to do in Night City. However, even with all these fixes, the gunplay, driving mechanics, and immersion still feel lacking compared to what CD Projekt Red promised.
Now CD Projekt Red has announced its work on the next Witcher game, adopting Unreal Engine 5. CD Projekt Red still has plans for expansions to Cyberpunk 2077 using its REDengine, but there is no news on what those expansions will contain. The game is still not in a great state, which may make those expansions and features like multiplayer a long way out.
Cyberpunk 2077 is still a far cry from what CD Projekt Red promised years ago. While it has been putting in work on updating the game, the announcement of the next Witcher title shows that CD Projekt may be moving on. Yet CD Projekt Red needs to deliver on its promises with Cyberpunk 2077 if it wants its fanbase to support The Witcher going forward. While it sounds like it may be committed to still releasing patches and the expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, time will tell if that is the case.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.