'Cyberpunk 2077' hits another delay, to release in December
If there was one video game that is the most-anticipated this year, it has to be Polish developer CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077. Fans can't wait to finally immerse themselves in the futuristic world of Night City once November 19th – the promised release date – comes around.
However, a disappointed cry from fans was heard around the world when CD Projekt Red announced today that they were pushing the release date back further to Dec. 10, a full 21-day delay.
The game developer made the announcement on their social media, with the now-infamous yellow background note to fans which has signalled dreaded news of delays in the past.
The note states their biggest hurdle hence the delay, needing to "prepare and test 9 versions" of Cyberpunk 2077 across a wide expanse of different gaming platforms, mainly the "Xbox One/X, compatibility on XBox Series S|X, PS4/Pro, compatibility on PS5, PC, Stadia" while having to contend with a global pandemic that has everyone working from the relative safety of their homes.
It continues, "We need to make sure everything works well and every version runs smoothly."
Cyberpunk 2077 has been in development since 2013, first making its presence felt via a stylish trailer that gave audiences a taste of what The Witcher developers had up their sleeves:
Seven years later, and the breathtaking addition of Keanu Reeves, Cyberpunk 2077 was all set to release on April 16th of this year, until it was delayed to September 17th. But in June, another update announced a further delay to November 19th.
In an October 5 tweet, CD Projekt Red declared that Cyberpunk 2077 had gone gold.
Cyberpunk 2077 has gone gold! ?
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) October 5, 2020
See you in Night City on November 19th! pic.twitter.com/s6U266Y1fp
As we now know, things have changed. Fans will have to wait from now until Dec. 10 whether or not CD Projekt Red will finally release the game, or (knock on wood) another unfortunate delay throws everything towards a 2021 release.
Despite the knee-jerk fan backlash that inevitably followed within minutes of the news, the game developer has somewhat managed to keep a sense of humor. From a tweet in October, just two days after announcing they had gone gold, the @CyberpunkGame Twitter account updated it today with a reply:
With a team that is reported to be around 500 persons already working in crunch mode over the past few months for a potentially genre- and generation-defining video game, what else can you do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯