Cyberpunk 2077 appears to be facing further delays after an update to the game’s post-launch roadmap shows that all “updates, improvements, and free DLCs” can now be expected in 2022, rather than towards the end of 2021 as was originally shown.
The updated roadmap, published in late October on the Cyberpunk 2077 website, shows that the release plan for 2021 now ends with Patch 1.31, which was released back in September of this year. The game’s free next-gen update is scheduled for Q1 2022 and all other “updates, improvements, and free DLCs” appear alongside that period and beyond.
A specific reason for the change hasn’t been given but it does come only a couple of weeks after CD Projekt Red announced that the game’s next-gen upgrades for Xbox Series X and PS5 have been pushed to Q1 2022, alongside the next-gen upgrade for The Witcher 3 getting pushed to Q2 2022. These delays were implemented as a result of “recommendations supplied by teams supervising both games” and a desire to “make it right”.
IMPORTANT PRODUCTION UPDATE pic.twitter.com/KOnaIVOt4vOctober 20, 2021
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Analysis: New year, new Cyberpunk
With all of Cyberpunk 2077’s major updates and improvements now scheduled for 2022, there’s a real sense that the studio is putting its head down for the rest of this year in preparation for a "new year, new me, fresh start" approach as we go into 2022.
We’re now approaching a year since Cyberpunk 2077 launched in December 2020 and given the difficulties around that launch and the many months that have followed, it’s perhaps not surprising that CD Projekt Red is looking to take its time and get this next stage of development just right. True next-gen releases, if they come out well, could go some way to breathing new life into the game on consoles and it’s possible that, for the moment, the studio is prioritizing this long-term goal over more immediate free DLC and fixes.
Delaying a game to make it right is generally the right approach, though part of the problem in Cyberpunk 2077’s case is that the game is no stranger to delays and they didn’t necessarily directly translate into a vastly improved experience for players, particularly on last-gen consoles. After multiple patches to improve its performance the game recently returned to the PlayStation Store but its listing still advises that “Purchase for use on PS4 systems is not recommended”.
Still, thanks to the ongoing pandemic, 2020 and 2021 have hardly been the smoothest years for development studios and delays are common at the moment. CD Projekt Red’s commitment to improving the game is reiterated in a Q&A under the updated roadmap, where the developer notes, “Our plans for supporting Cyberpunk 2077 in the long-term are unchanged, and we will continue to introduce updates and patches to give all players across all consoles and PCs a better experience with the game.”
It looks like we’ll have to wait until 2022 and the release of all the game’s forthcoming improvements, DLC and next-gen updates before we get a better sense of what the future holds for Cyberpunk 2077.
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