Way back in 2013, just a year after The Witcher 2 had wrapped up with its "Enhanced Edition" update, CD Projekt Red announced the studio had moved on to something new. Vastly different from its highly popular The Witcher series, the developer released the vague and enticing trailer that would be the first reveal of Cyberpunk 2077. Now, seven years later, the game is finally releasing this fall for PS4 and Xbox One with next-gen releases also in development.
Since that 2013 trailer, the game had remained largely silent during its development. It became apparent why the game disappeared when fans got their first real glimpse at the game during E3 2018. It was clear Cyberpunk 2077 had come a long way from its first CG trailer, as the world truly appeared massive and immersive. Stakes only rose from there, ranging from press exclusive gameplay stoking hype to a now-iconic celebrity reveal in Keanu Reeves at last year's E3. Cyberpunk 2077 has grown substantially from its initial reveal seven years ago.
A Faithful Homage to Cyberpunk
Prior to Cyberpunk 2077, there was only one other game based in the Cyberpunk universe. Cyberpunk itself is a popular retro-future tabletop game that shares the same name of the science fiction subgenre it's based on. Akin to that of Dungeons & Dragons, players create characters based on classes like Netrunner or Rockerboy, and participate in a story just like a D&D campaign. There's only been one officially licensed Cyberpunk game, a Java based platformer called Cyberpunk: Arasaka's Plot. Cyberpunk 2077, on the other hand, marks the first engrossing RPG based on the tabletop game, with CD Projekt Red coordinating with Cyberpunk writer Mike Pondsmith for development.
Cyberpunk 2077 is meant to be a faithful homage to Pondsmith's creation. That first trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 emphasized that to a great degree. It was strange, dystopian, unnerving, centered on a heavily augmented woman wreaking havoc in the streets as law enforcement goes to stop her. Panning slow-motion shots of the environment around her are full of references to Cyberpunk lore like Alt Cunningham and Militech. The visuals evoked all of the facets of a dystopian future; a heavily militarized police force, complex body augmentations, futuristic weaponry. Unfortunately that would be the last time fans would see Cyberpunk 2077 for a long time.
Cyberpunk 2077's Great Expectations
Likely because CD Projekt Red was focused on developing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077 went dark to focus on the brunt of development. Cyberpunk's team was massive in comparison to The Witcher 3, with CD Projekt Red even opening up a new studio to support development of the game. Considering how massive the game is promising to be, it's not surprising the game was radio silent for as long as it was in retrospect. Fans didn't get another taste of Cyberpunk 2077 until 2018, but what a taste they did receive. With a surprise premiere at Xbox's conference, Cyberpunk 2077 finally resurfaced with an in-engine/gameplay trailer featuring an introduction to Night City. This was when Cyberpunk 2077 hype flew through the roof.
Finally fans knew that the game hadn't entered development hell, rather the Cyberpunk love letter had come a long way since its initial teaser. With fan hype reaching a fever pitch after this trailer, expectations were set real high for CD Projekt Red's latest game. It's clear the developers understood fans have been waiting a long time, and wanted to return with a bang. So of course for Cyberpunk 2077 to return to E3 again in 2019, the stakes could never have been higher. And yet, despite this, Cyberpunk 2077 returned with another impressive trailer that culminated in the reveal of Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand. For fans this was a moment where, even when hype was huge for Cyberpunk 2077 already, somehow CD Projekt Red had managed to surpass even that.
The Wait is Just a Little Longer
Since then, with the remainder of E3 hype finally dying down, CD Projekt Red has been focused on producing gameplay deep dives as the game inches closer to release. The general public was finally starting to witness what media had been describing in behind-closed-doors gameplay demos. But while these long-form gameplay demos were being shared, Cyberpunk 2077 was running out of time to meet the target release date of April 16, 2020. Citing a desire to perfect the game prior to release, CD Projekt Red delayed the game to September 17. Then as the Covid-19 pandemic arrived and social distancing guidelines were imposed around the world, the studio delayed Cyberpunk 2077 further to November 19.
Fans were understandably stung by two delays in the same year, but are for the most part were understanding. Plus, what's a few more months compared to the seven years since the game's announcement? Now the game aligns pretty well with the next-gen console releases, and (knock on wood) more than likely shouldn't be delayed any further. It's clear the long development time has culminated in a clear attempt to emulate the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG as accurately as possible in a video game. Media personnel have finally been able to play the game after years of hands-off demos prior. Cyberpunk 2077 is finally on the way after all this time, and the stakes couldn't be higher for CD Projekt Red.
Cyberpunk 2077 releases on November 19, 2020, for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X releases are in development.