In Todays Cyberpunk 2077 News video we’ll be looking at a brand new financial keynote from CD PROJEKT RED highlighting new details about Cyberpunk 2077 including special plans for 2077 at E3 2019, Red Engine 4 and Cyberpunk 2077 being a cross generational title, how advanced Cyberpunks development currently is, Multiplayer research and development, release dates, google stadia integration, a new game and IP from CD PROJEKT RED, what it could be and it’s release date. We also have Quest complexity in Cyberpunk 2077 compared to the Witcher 3, the layout of CD PROJEKT REDs plans from 2019 to 2021 and some Countdown to the Dark Future details highlighting Cyberpsychos and Weapons.
Jumping into the News segment we are going to start of with an incredibly informative financial breakdown keynote from CD PROJEKT, ran by CD PROJEKT RED President and CEO Adam Kicinski where we learn a ton of details about Cyberpunk 2077 and other exciting things CD PROJEKT RED is doing. Kicinski starts off by highlightint that Cyberpunk 2077 is their biggest project ever and compares the traction Witcher 3 trailers had versus what Cyberpunk 2077 is having. This graphic shows a pretty stark difference and some insight into how popular the world of Night City and 2077 has become in a short period of time. Kicinski goes on to mention that most of the marketing campaign, obviously, is ahead of us and that it is their largest marketing campaign ever not only in the US but in other regions as well. He also mentions that E3 2018 was the biggest for CD PROJEKT RED and Cyberpunk 2077, and goes on to add how much more important E3 2019 is going to be for Cyberpunk. They have planned a strong showing and surprises, and invites those at the conference to visit them at their E3 booth, which gives more truth to the claims of them having a public open booth showcasing the game. Kicinski also debunks that the previously mentioned surprise at E3 is not a certain popstar most likely referring to the Lady Gaga rumors. Developing and merchandising products for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 along with CDPR responding to a comment about merch also highlights that they want to support their games with a better store for fans to purchase officially licensed Cyberpunk 2077 gear. The Cyberpunk 2077 team is not going to be adding or growing any larger than it is right now, which is 400 people strong, and at the end of the cycle of development will start to be funneled appropriately into an interesting new development. Now we’ve known for a while that CD PROJEKT RED is planning to release 2 Games before 2021, with Cyberpunk 2077 being the first game to release. This not only hints at a 2019 release date for 2077, but also debunks the misinformation I’ve been seeing around that claims 2077 will be out in 2021. Now the original roadmap for this new game is still on schedule and it will not be a port or remake of any sort but instead is heavily hinted at by Kicinski in the conference that it is a new IP. We know this because he says not to have any expectations, to not draw conclusions, that the team is condensed for this game and that it doesn’t have to be comparable to Cyberpunk or The Witcher because it’s smaller in scope. Kicinski assures us that smaller in scope does not mean its any less quality oriented, and that they wont talk much more about it because they don’t want to take away from 2077 marketing hype and momentum.
Now when it comes to Cyberpunk 2077 being cross generational Adam Kicinski said “yes absolutely we already have such a plan, next gen hasn’t been announced but red engine has been developed from scratch for cross gen. If theres an opportunity to launch cross gen we would probably want to do this.” This also makes me wonder if the new game launching in 2021 will be cross generational because the engine is already primed and they seem eager to bridge the gap.
When it comes to when we can expect Cyberpunk 2077, Kicinski mentions that Cyberpunk 2077 is very advanced. Kicinski mentions that they are not quite happy yet with the project so that definitely means more polishing and perfecting.
Research and Development has already seen 65 million Zloty spent through 2018 with 178 million more in progress. I’m going to assume a big chunk of that will help with Cyberpunks online element as it’s still in R&D.
Next up we have some details about the complexity of Cyberpunk 2077 quests versus The Witcher 3. In a podcast with German magazine Gamestar Quest designer Philipp Weber and Level-Designer Miles Tost made mention that quests will be 3-5x more complex than The Witcher 3’s and that there was a quest that forced players to leave their weapons behind, but added in an option for the players to vocalize their insistence on keeping them.
Finally we have a couple Countdown to The Dark future episode which highlight the world of the Cyberpunk lore and what we might see in 2077 when it launches.