CD Projekt RED may have silently canceled a multiplayer spinoff set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe.
For those not aware, the developer had originally intended for last year’s single-player experience to be an entry point into its adaptation of the tabletop game and part of a wider franchise. This would have been realized in the form of DLC (which appears to still be in the works) as well as a standalone online experience. What with an avalanche of issues burying the studio in a sea of criticism that it only recently started to claw its way out of via numerous post-launch patches, though, many are beginning to wonder whether the latter of these proposed projects is still on course to arrive sometime in the future.
Well, judging from comments made by CDPR president Adam Kicinski, it would seem as if those plans are either no longer the same or have been scrapped entirely.
Speaking to IGN in a strategy update, Kicinski detailed how following Cyberpunk 2077‘s disastrous launch and subsequent poor sales, the company had undergone an internal review of how it intends to not only announce other games but the means by which they’re made available to the public. Rather than create and release “one big online experience,” says Kicinski, the focus will now be on “bringing online into all of our franchises one day.”
The statement is vague enough to be interpreted in multiple ways, but reading between the lines certainly suggests that any intention of opening up Night City to potentially hundreds of players concurrently is no longer on the cards, at least not as an individually saleable experience. Are you surprised by this news, though, or is it simply the inevitable end result of recent events? Have your say in the usual place below!