It was supposed to be the video game to end all video games. Cyberpunk 2077 was the most anticipated video game for almost an entire decade. Well, up until its launch.
A few hours after the game's launch, disaster struck, and people were up in arms about what was a historic moment for video games all over the world. The game was littered with bugs and glitches that rendered the game unplayable on the console.
Soon, fan hype became fan outrage. What happened to this highly-anticipated game? And why did it crash and burn? Find out more below.
What Is Cyberpunk 2077?
Cyberpunk 2077 is an action-adventure game from CD Projekt Red set in a Night City in the Cyberpunk universe. Players get to play a mercenary who acquires abilities.
It is played in a first-person perspective alongside many other characters in the game.
Expectations vs. Reality
To fully understand what happened and what caused this major issue with Cyberpunk's launch, we need to go back to where it all began. When Polish studio CD Projekt Red announced the game way back in 2012, fans were hyped as the game was touted as the ultimate sci-fi game with an immersive experience.
CD Projekt Red had a very high reputation within the game industry for being a company that enjoyed a high success rate in their games. The public and the fans waited for a long time as CD Projekt Red jumped on board to develop the game full time in 2015.
The Hype
Throughout the years, fans were treated with teasers of the game, including Keanu Reeves. It wasn't until 2018 when fans got to see the full trailer of the game at E3. But when you have Keanu Reeves as part of the teaser trailer, you better have what it takes to meet your fans' high expectations.
The trailer did its job well enough to make the fans hungry for more. The hype was truly at its peak this time. Nobody thought that this game would somehow result in a disaster that we know today.
A year after the trailer was released and the overall development of the game was relatively quiet. However, storm clouds were brewing at the horizon that fans should have known better.
Red Flags
The first-ever signs that things were not going too well for the game was when the developers initiated a six-day workweek. This raised eyebrows everywhere as people were beginning to doubt whether the game was finished.
Some even wondered why a developer would want their employees overworked when they had all the time they needed to work on the game for years. Soon, CD Projekt Red announced that the game would be delayed to December.
It was initially delayed way back in April, then moved to September, and now, it was moved to the last month of the year. Knowing how COVID has affected everything in the past year, it was entirely forgivable for them to do so and games get delayed all the time, so there's no worry there.
As the release drew closer, reviews of the game became very suspicious. Reviewers were only subjected to the PC version of the game and not for the consoles such as PlayStation.
The Bugs
It was quite surprising and suspicious, to say the least, that a company as large as CD Projekt Red would try and divert the attention to PC and hope that people would not notice this. Reviews noted that even the PC version suffered from bugs and crashes, but the PlayStation version was on another level.
Characters were falling from floors or appearing out of nowhere, NPCs stuck inside elevators where you need to finish a quest, and many more. The bugs and crashes were out of control that the game was unplayable, and fans were outraged.
The Aftermath
It was clear that the game was not yet ready to be released. Many people expected the game's launch to be a disaster with all these red flags, from the six-day crunch time to delays. However, the game was released, and we all suffered through the mess that was Cyberpunk 2077.
Many believed that the game suffered from a managerial perspective instead of a developer perspective. It seemed that investors were pushing for the game to be released since it has been in development for several years, even if it was still obviously working out its kinks. However, the damage was already done.
The game was already released in its broken state that the developers would have to issue a public statement regarding the game's state. The game was removed from the PlayStation Store, and refunds were made.
Sony even made a statement and a page regarding refunds on its website to accommodate such transactions. CD Projekt Red has promised to continue improving the game, and several patches have been made to correct those issues. However, it would take months for the game to be properly playable.
Conclusion
Cyberpunk 2077 had all the makings of a masterpiece. Backed by a studio with a history of making great games, several years of development to polish the game, and a fair amount of financial support, the game was on its way to becoming a contender as one of the greatest games of all time.
Sadly, corporate decisions had to be made, and the game suffered for it. Will the game bounce back from this mess? We wait in bated breath to finally get to see the day when Cyberpunk 2077 lives up to its full potential.
