Cyberpunk 2077 is facing another delay, and fans are gutted and disappointed.
On Tuesday (27/10), CD Projekt Red released a full statement of the game's development on their social media. Instead of releasing it on November 19, Cyberpunk 2077 will hit the stores on December 10.
"First and foremost, please accept our humble apologies," Adam Badowski and Marcin Iwinski of CD Projekt Red wrote in the statement.
Devs revealed that preparing and testing all the nine versions for current-gen consoles and the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series S/X has been more challenging than ever. Cyberpunk 2077 is also eyeing a Google Stadia and PC release, and finishing a game while working from home is definitely not easy.
Not the First Time
Cyberpunk 2077 has a long history of delays. The game was first announced back in May 2012, with its teaser trailer released on YouTube in early 2013, and we've come a long way since then.
This is the third time CD Projekt has pushed back their long-anticipated magnum opus. The first release date was due last April but pushed back until September 17 to 'perfect the game.' Then, it's moved again until November 19.
Ironically, the announcement came not too long after the game's disc version 'went gold.'
"Passing certification means the game is ready, can be completed, and has all content in it. But it doesn't mean we stop working on it and raising the quality bar," said the head of the studio.
Going gold means the games have already been shipped, and now the devs are focusing on Day 1 patch improvement.
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Crunch Culture Allegation
In September, CD Projekt was thrown under the bus after an insider leaked an email about the devs grueling crunch culture. Apparently, the Poland-based developer told its employees to work six days a week so they could anticipate the release.
Ironically, Iwiński told Kotaku in 2019 that he doesn't believe in crunch culture. He promised that "nobody will be frowned upon if this (overwork schedule) will be requested."
As reported by Bloomberg, Iwiński said in a statement that the decision was shocking to him, and it's contrary to what he believes in, yet it was necessary.
Either way, the employee's health is more important than the game. Although the postponement is a bitter pill to swallow, especially after they promised "no more delays are happening," it's understandable to pull this hard decision.
Let's just hope Cyberpunk will not be another overhyped and over-delayed project. Or even worse, it will be released exactly in 2077.
