One of 2020's most highly anticipated titles is undoubtedly CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077. The futuristic open-world RPG has been getting major attention since its announcement all the way back in 2013 and the hype has only skyrocketed with the release of The Witcher 3 in 2015. Now, despite numerous delays, Polish developer CD Projekt Red is finally gearing up to launch Cyberpunk 2077 on November 19th on current-generation consoles, with next-generation upgrades following for free sometime next year. With Microsoft handling a degree of the game's marketing, featuring it during its E3 press conferences two years in a row and marketing it as an Xbox Series X Smart Delivery title, many have begun to speculate on if Microsoft intends on bringing the game to Game Pass at launch.
This rumor stems from VentureBeat writer Jeff Grubb, who took to Twitter after publishing an article outlining what to expect at Microsoft's upcoming first-party Xbox Series X games showcase, which will include titles such as Halo Infinite. In the Twitter thread, Grubb speculates on if Microsoft will abandon the idea of timed-exclusives (such as how Sony is partnering with Bethesda to make Death Loop and Ghostwire: Tokyo timed console-exclusives), in favor of bringing bigger third-party releases to Xbox Game Pass at launch. Grubb makes a compelling argument, writing "It makes too much sense. Time-exclusives didn't do much for Xbox One. And why would it? "We spent money so only people who buy our hardware can buy this game" is actually weird especially compared to "we spent money so you can get this game as part of the sub you already have."
It would be exciting to see Microsoft-backed titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed Valhalla come to Game Pass at launch, and would make for a compelling reason to transition to Xbox Series X early this holiday season, however it seems like Microsoft is not interested in going that direction just yet, as Grubb's Tweets attracted the attention of CD Project Red's Radek Grabowski, who confirmed that the developer has no in plans to put Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox Game Pass.
To add further insult to injury, Bloomberg analyst Matthew Kanterman also chimed in, Tweeting "Witcher 3 went into Game Pass 4 years after release or so. Don’t expect Cyberpunk to show up anytime soon. At least won’t happen until expansions and multiplayer release through 2022. Maybe after that."
So while it doesn't seem like Cyberpunk 2077 will be coming to Xbox Game Pass any time soon, fans shouldn't lose hope that Xbox has great plans for Game Pass going forward. Multiple major Xbox Series X launch titles such as Halo Infinite and The Medium will be available on the service from day 1, and with rumors of video game prices jumping from $59.99 to $69.99 on next-gen platforms, Xbox Game Pass subscriptions may be more valuable than ever this generation.
Cyberpunk 2077 launches on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 19th 2020.
Source: VentureBeat