CD Projekt Red just released Cyberpunk 2077, over eight years after they first announced it. The new open-world RPG from the makers of The Witcher sends us into a dystopian future where the megacorps are trashing our rights, the décor is heavy on neon, the fashion is big on pleather, and the digital ghost of Keanu Reeves is stuck in our head. While we don’t have a review yet because we weren’t given a copy in time, we’ll have plenty to say soon. But hey, you can see for yourself now!
Cyberpunk 2077 is on Steam, GOG (be wary of key resellers!), and the Epic Games Store for £50/€60/$60. It’s also out on Google Stadia. The game hits Xbone and PS4 today too, but CDPR say it will launch region-by-region at midnight local time for consoles rather than simultaneously worldwide. Xbox Xeriex X/S and PlayStation 5 versions will follow in 2021.
Steam and GOG got quite wobbly, quite quickly. Bit popular, this game.
Both Nvidia and AMD have released new drivers to go with the game, by the way. Oh, and if you connect the game to GOG Galaxy, no matter where you buy it, you’ll get some bonus items including a Witcher shirt and jacket.
It’s wild to remember that CDPR actually announced Cyberpunk before The Witcher 3 – a game which came out in 2015. They first announced they were making a game based on the tabletop RPG universe in May 2012, then that October confirmed the name (and year) of Cyberpunk 2077. Come 2013, we saw a wee CGI teaser trailer. And then… they mostly fell quiet until 2018, when they returned with a flash E3 trailer. Several delays later, it’s finally out. But CD Projekt Red did break their ‘no crunch’ policy to get here.
Though I watched 2013’s pre-rendered trailer a whole lot during the quiet years, the recent megavidblast actually pushed it out my memory. Hullo, old friends!
CDPR plan to start releasing a few free DLC packs in early 2021, and have plans for expansions too. Some form of multiplayer is a long-term goal but I wouldn’t expect to play it any time soon. Back in January, they said it was unlikely to arrive before 2022 – and that was before they delayed the game several times.
As for the bugginess that reviews complained about, I’m curious to see how much it was improved in the last-minute fixfrenzy. I’ve had Twitch streams on my second screen all day (the job kinda precludes going in fresh) and did see quite a few crashes, physics freakouts, and visual glitches. If it still crashes on startup on GOG, try this.
One word of warning: flashing lights in the ‘braindance’ sections are so unexpectedly intense that one reviewer had a seizure. CDPR said they would add an in-game warning first while looking to implement “a more permanent solution … as soon as possible.” For now, yeah, be careful when it’s time to relive someone else’s memories.
Have a lit new year