Cyberpunk 2077 Dev Says Disastrous Launch Taught Them A Big Lesson

Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t exactly enjoy the instant, immutable success that developer CD Projekt RED no doubt desired when it launched last year.

The Polish studio, responsible for creating a genre-defining masterpiece with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, had been expected (perhaps unfairly) to deliver yet another surefire winner with its adaptation of Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop board game, only for the reality to be an undercooked sci-RPG overburdened with glaring technical issues. Suffice it to say, consumers were left disappointed and frustrated by the end result, with some even claiming to have been misled by pre-release trailers not being representative of the final product.

The fallout prompted platform holders to caution customers, with Sony even going so far as to remove the title from sale on the PlayStation Store indefinitely. Despite the negative media circus surrounding it, Cyberpunk still sold in excess of 13.7 million copies throughout 2020, though CDPR remains acutely aware of the damage inflicted on its reputation.

Speaking in a recent investor briefing, the company said:

We managed to introduce a new IP to the market and to the minds of gamers around the globe. Now with The Witcher franchise, we have two strong pillars on which to build the future of CD Projekt. But of course, as well know not everything went as planned. It has been a huge lesson for us that we shall never forget.

As for how business will change going forward, marketing practices have been singled out previously as requiring a major review, meaning that whatever CDPR ends up working on next (rumored to be The Witcher 4), it’s highly unlikely that the public will be hearing about it for a while. And certainly not eight years ahead of time, as was the case for Night City.

Until then, however, there’s still plenty of work to be done on Cyberpunk 2077. A gigantic patch aimed at fixing numerous bugs and quirks recently went live for all platforms. See here for more details and be sure to let us know if you’ve been able to get any enjoyment out of the game by dropping a comment below.