Following the announcement of the delay of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt hosted a conference call for investors to address the situation.
During the call, the developer’s management team provided interesting insight into the state of the game and the plans going forward.
First of all, we hear more about the developer’s ambitions with the game:
“Cyberpunk 2077 is the biggest and most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken. Not only we intend the game to be better than The Witcher 3 artistically, but we also want to elevate it to another level business-wise.”
The developer also mentioned that they know where they stand and which aspects of the game still require work. As a consequence, they’re confident that the game will be released on September 17 without further delays.
“We have enough time to finish the game we want it to be finished and enough buffer to make sure it’s of the quality we want it to be.”
Delaying the game “definitely” an unanimous decision. It’s something that has been discussed over time and the team is “very convinced” of it. The same goes for the new release date.
We then hear about the feedback coming from internal testing:
“The current feedback and the feedback that we’ve got so far is really optimistic and promising.”
CD Projekt is also confident that the game, “being a single-player RPG with a great story,” will find its place in the market regardless of its release date. They don’t believe that a September release window is any riskier than any other.
We also hear that the developer is still sticking to its plans regarding platforms. While they’re “thinking” about the next generation, for now, they’re focused on the current generation.
“Cyberpunk is right now heading for Ps4, Xbox One, and PC. Nothing has changed in regards to the plans.”
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“We’re of course looking at the next generation all the time. We’re privy to a lot of information on what’s going on with these platforms, but frankly speaking, we have nothing to share now related to that.”
Following, we get the clarification that the delay was not due to issues with fundamental mechanics.
“The game is fairly complex. There are some glitches and we’re not talking about any fundamental or important mechanics. Everything is there, but with the level of complexity and dependencies, polishing is just a complex task. It’s just the number of things we have to take care of, less than any fundamental problem. As we’ve said we’re pretty confident with the game. “
While delaying the game was a tough decision, the team believes it was a good decision. It also wasn’t due to any sudden major problem, but simply due to an ongoing process of evaluation.
There will be “some degree” of crunch within the development team, but CD Projekt is “trying to limit crunch as much as possible.” They’re trying to be “reasonable” about it, but it’s the final stage.
The developer has not yet devised a strategy for E3 and Gamescom this year. They’re going to be present in some form, but it’s too early to provide details.
At the moment they’re preparing to submit the game to rating agencies, and they’ll be sharing more of it and talking about more things between now and release. There are going to be “a few updates.” The closer we’ll get to launch, the more we’re going to see, likely with a pause during the summer.
Speaking of things like story, dialogue, and quests, the team is “very, very happy” of where they’re at, and one of the reasons behind the delay is that they don’t want to “bring those down with technical issues.”
If you want to learn more about Cyberpunk 2077, you can enjoy the most recent gameplay, read additional comments from the developers, and enjoy some really high-definition character images.
You can read our recent interview with producer Richard Borzymowski, how character creation can impact the story, and every way V can kill someone.
Cyberpunk 2077 is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 17, 2020.
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