Cyberpunk 2077developer CD Projekt Red needs to “fix” its relationship with the fans, a senior company official said. This bit of insight into CDPR’s ambitions arrived shortly after the companyconfirmed the release date forCyberpunk 2077’sPhantom Liberty DLCat the latest Xbox Games Showcase.
Cyberpunk 2077has come a long way since its highly controversial launch in December 2020, which was largely hampered by the game’s terrible performance on the PS4 and Xbox One. CD Projekt Red spent the next two years optimizing the game before finally dropping support for last-generation consoles with the release of theCyberpunk 20771.61 updatein late 2022. The RPG’s upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty, will only be available on PC and current-gen consoles once it releases come September.
RELATED:Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty SGF Demo Confirms Long-Standing Fan Theory
In the meantime, the shadow of the game’s disastrous debut still looms over the developer, with CDPR VP of PR and Communication Michał Platkow-Gilewski acknowledging as much. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the executive reflected on the past three years as a “bumpy” period for the company, adding that the studio still has ways to go until it restores its reputation. “We just need to fix our relationship [with the fandom],” Platkow-Gilewski explained. Elaborating on that point, the official said that merely delivering what CDPR is capable of should be enough to do so moving forward, starting withCyberpunk 2077’sfirst and only expansion.
It remains to be seen whetherPhantom Liberty turnsCyberpunk 2077into the game everyone wanted in 2020, but Platkow-Gilewski says the developer already took steps to ensure such a disappointing release doesn’t happen again. Among other things, CDPR restructured its operations and made the decision to create the upcomingCyberpunk 2077sequel using Unreal Engine 5 instead of its REDengine. Additionally, the studio is currently in the process of decentralizing its development practices in order to make better use of its rapidly growing workforce.
The developer also looked to eliminate crunch culture following the troubled launch ofCyberpunk 2077, which originally went gold in such unsustainable conditions. According to Platkow-Gilewski, CDPR now has a whole team dedicated to eliminating “excessive working” and improving life across the company. And while its launch left a lot to be desired,Cyberpunk 2077was still a massive commercial hit from the moment it reached the store shelves, with CDPR previously confirming the project broke even from pre-orders alone.
Apart from wrapping up work on Phantom Liberty, CDPR is currently also working on additional fixes for its RPG meant to polish its overall gameplay experience. The latest such update released earlier this month in the form of theCyberpunk 20771.63 patchwhich addressed over three dozen issues.
Cyberpunk 2077is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
