Cyberpunk 2077 is a neon cyberpunk game that has The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red moving from a gritty, high fantasy world of an equally gritty, science fiction word metropolis. It's based off the pen-and-paper RPG of the same name, but plays a heckuva lot like The Matrix game we've always wanted.
We caught our first peek at the game behind closed doors at E3 2018 – and now can show you what we saw in the 48-minute walkthrough video below.
What you'll see in that time is a game that looks vastly different than The Witcher series, with towering neon skyscrapers, bionic enhancements and a focus on vertical movement rather than wide open plains. It's also all in first-person.
The internet is crawling with news and rumors about this PC, Xbox One and PS4-bound game, so we’ve collected everything that's been said about Cyberpunk 2077 here for your convenience and we'll be constantly updating this page as more details emerge.
Cut to the Chase
- What is Cyberpunk 2077? A brand new IP from CD Projekt Red
- What's the Cyberpunk 2077 release date? No official release date but 2019 seems likely
- What systems will Cyberpunk 2077 be released on? PS4, Xbox One and PC and we’d expect the 4K console iterations too
Cyberpunk 2077 trailers
After a veritable truckload of hype, CD Projekt Red has released 48 minutes of gameplay footage, based on the demo journalists saw at E3 2018. In it, you'll see what gunplay looks like, character creation and backstory assignment, plus how you'll upgrade yourself via cybernetic enhancements. You'll meet some of the characters in Cyberpunk's seedy crime circuit and explore the city on foot and in vehicles. (Quick warning: the trailer contains nudity, violence and swearing.)
We were treated to a brand new Cyberpunk 2077 trailer during E3 2018 which you can watch below:
After an extremely short title reveal trailer, in 2013 we were treated to a more than two minute long teaser trailer although it didn't reveal much about what will be in the actual game.
It did, however, capture Cyberpunk's futuristic setting incredibly well and let us know that when it comes we can expect something dark, dangerous and visually stunning. At the end it also looks like we get a look at the Braindance technology discussed further down.
Cyberpunk 2077 release date
In the game’s official teaser trailer it’s stated that the game will be coming “when it’s ready.” But for now it appears that CD Projekt Red is hoping that will be sometime in early 2019.
In an investor call in early 2016 it was suggested that Cyberpunk 2077 would be released before June 2019. It was also said in this call that CD Projekt Red is planning to release two new triple A RPGs before 2021.
It was later clarified in forums that Cyberpunk 2077 would be the first of these games to arrive and work on the second would not start before Cyberpunk 2077 was finished.
Considering The Witcher 3 took around three and a half years to develop, a 2019 release doesn’t seem unmanageable for the studio.
As well as a deadline they’ve no doubt set for themselves, the studio also has a deadline from the Polish government.
In December of last year they were given a grant of more than $5 million from the government to research new game techniques related to multiplayer, animation and city creation. The sizable sum came with a project deadline attached and if it does relate to Cyberpunk 2077 it’ll mean the game really does have to be released in 2019. The government said so, which ironically isn’t particularly Cyberpunk.
In a recent financial presentation, CD Projekt Red has revealed that at the moment Cyberpunk 2077 is under "intensive development" and that there are more than 300 developers actively working on it. For context, there are currently 100 developers working across Gwent and the Witcher 3's 4K patch at the moment.
There was no more information on the game's progress during the presentation but the company's President and joint CEO Adam Kiciński said there would be "a moment in time" when he and the developers will be able to show off what they've achieved.
Cybperunk 2077 news and features
E3 2018 confirmed features
We got to spend some time watching a demo of Cyberpunk 2077 during E3 and we learned some interesting things about the game.
It's a first person RPG set in a huge open world known as Night City - the city will be split into six districts, each offering a different environment to explore. During the demo we only saw a small part of one of them.
Players can create their own character called V and embark on their journey to crawl up from the criminal underbelly. This is a dark game and though The Witcher series is mature, this takes it to a new level.
As you'd expect, the game lets you augment your body using various bits of tech - illegal or otherwise - and you can use drugs to enhance your combat. Speaking of combat, weapons are wide ranging and seriously creative with smart guns and bullets as well as terrifying Mantis Blades for melee.
There are no loading screens in Cyberpunk 2077 and the story and side quests are branching and numerous, and your choices genuinely impact the outcome. You can read more about how impressed were were by what we saw.
E3 2018 secret message
CD Projekt RED used the Xbox Showcase to show its latest trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. But it's more than just a trailer. Spotted by Polygon, there's a moment in the trailer with hidden text with more information on the game which is revealed when you enhance the image.
In the message CD Projekt first apologises for "staying silent longer than we planned" but following the release of The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine the developer wanted to wait until it had "something meaningful and substantial" to show.
It goes on to say that the vision for Cyberpunk is "an alternative version of the future where America is in pieces, megacorporations control all aspects of civilized life, and gangs rule the rest." This game will, CD Projekt says, be a "true single player, story-driven RPG" where you'll be able to create your own character.
At the moment the developer isn't ready to confirm any kind of release date and asks for more patience. It also says it has "no bloody clue" about how big the game is but does say it's "seriously big."
Players should "expect nothing less" than what they got with The Witcher 3 when it comes to DLC and expansions. Oh, and there won't be a single microstransaction.
GDC news
CD Projekt Red likes to keep its cards close to its chest but over the past week we've learned some interesting things about Cyberpunk 2077. The developer has announced that it's opening a new Wroclaw studio to expand production on the game and company President Adam Kuciński has recently dropped a few more details at the recent financial conference.
The most significant thing is that he confirmed this is a single-player narrative driven game and there are no multiplayer plans in motion right now. that doesn't mean they won't happen – the developer confirmed them years ago and a battle royale mode was humored at this very event – but they're not the focus for now.
Another important reveal was that the game will be full-price with no additional microstransactions or hidden costs.
Most excitingly, though? It was confirmed that the game will appear in some capacity at this year's E3.
It could be on the next generation of consoles
CD Projekt Red has hinted that Cyberpunk 2077 could be developed for both current and next gen titles. GamingBolt has reported that during a presentation at the Pareto Securities Gaming Seminar 2018 event, the studio's CFO Piotr Nielubowicz and CEO Adam Kiciński mentioned Cyberpunk 2077 hinted that it may be being developed for future hardware. The slide in question stated the team was developing the title for “current and next-generation technology”.
We're not entirely sure what this could mean given that we don't actually know when the next generation will begin and both consoles are currently in a 4K half-gen state. However, it'd be reasonable to guess that it could mean that, like Grand Theft Auto 5, Cyberpunk 2077 could be developed for current generations and then appear on PlayStation 5 and the next Xbox. It also leaves us wondering about when exactly Cyberpunk 2077 is expected to launch – it could be another year or two yet if this is anything to go by.
It will be on Steam
Good news Steam fans: Cyberpunk 2077 will definitely be coming to the platform. At the Pareto Securities Gaming Seminar (via PCGamesN) the studio’s CEO Adam Kiciński gave a presentation in which he confirmed that the game would not be exclusive to GOG. This isn't hugely surprising given other games from CD Projekt have also appeared on both Steam and GOG but we shouldn't take anything for a given, and it's good to have this confirmed.
Plans for E3
It's been a while since Cyberpunk 2077 has appeared at a big gaming show. However, recent rumors suggest the game could make an appearance at E3 2018.
After there were stirrings of life on the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account we have to admit we wondered if that was all we were going to get for the year. But hopes are being raised thanks to recent reports from leading Polish games site GRYOnline.
According to GRYOnline, two separate sources have said that Cyberpunk 2077 will have a public trailer at E3 2018 and that there'll also be a playable demo behind closed doors for press.
There is precedent for CD Projekt Red taking this approach; in 2013 the developer showed off a trailer for The Witcher 3 while showing press a demo behind closed doors. The game was then released two years later.
Whether or not these rumors are true has not been confirmed by CD Projekt Red, but GRYOnline is a credible site. At this point we'll just have to wait and see, but the recent stirrings of life on the game's Twitter account are at least another good sign from the developer itself.
At the very least, CD Projekt's Red's presence at E3 2018 has been confirmed by the appearance of its logo in the show's official participant banner. Whether or not it's bringing Cyberpunk 2077 news to the show, however, remains unconfirmed.
Signs of life on Twitter
For a while now it's been all quiet on the Cyberpunk 2077 front. Well, it was until January 10 when the game's official Twitter account made a noise for the first time in more than four years.
What did this momentous tweet say? Well, see for yourself below.
Yes, that's the first tweet since December 2013. So we have no more information, but we do know there are signs of life in that Twitter accounts which suggests this could be the year we find out a little more about this highly anticipated game. Because surely the 2077 in the title isn't actually a release date.
It’s going to be bigger than The Witcher 3
It would have been a pretty safe guess to say that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a big game, but in an interview with MCV in 2015 visual effects artist Jose Teixeira said it’s going to be “far, far bigger” than anything the studio has ever done.
In fact, he said that The Witcher 3 was being treated as a learning experience and that they could do better. To do better, the studio has doubled in size with studio head Adam Badowski saying that after The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 needs to be “even better, even bigger, even more revolutionary” than what had originally been planned.
You’ll be travelling on more advanced tech than boats and horses
So, we know the game map is going to be intimidatingly big. How will we get around it, then? Well fortunately, moving out of the high fantasy realm gives CD Projekt Red a little more freedom when it comes to creating vehicles.
Don’t expect horses and basic boats here – a job listing for a Senior Vehicle Artist for the studio said they’d be expected to work on “incredibly complex vehicles, planes, bikes, robots and mechanics.“
It’ll have a big single player story
We don’t imagine we’ll shock many people when we say this but Cyberpunk 2077 will take place in the year 2077.
Specifically CD Projekt Red has confirmed it’ll be set in a place called Night City. Night City’s streets will be huge, filthy, and invested with drug problems. As you’d expect from the Cyberpunk genre, there’ll be a huge wealth gap, where the rich and corporations preside over poverty-stricken citizens, many of whom are driven into gangs.
Desperate for escape, many of the poor residents of Night City turn to an addictive escape known as Braindance which for just a few hours allows them to feel physically and mentally like they’re someone (anyone) else.
According to CD Projekt Red they’re “digital recordings of a person’s experience. The viewer can stream a braindance directly into his neural system via special brain augmentations, called a BD player. Braindances allow the viewer to experience all brain processes registered, including emotions, muscle movements and all stimuli perceived by the recording person.”
Braindance experiences that place you in the lives of the rich and glamorous are naturally sold by corporations. However, much darker and illegal Braindances that can turn those using them into bloodthirsty killers are also distributed on the black market.
In this incredibly dark world you’ll play a young man that’s been raised in the lowest section of society but wants to make something of himself and rise out of the gutter. Like most Cyberpunk protagonists we imagine he’ll be something of an anti-hero and find himself embroiled in the criminal underworld, manipulated and forced into difficult situations. How Braindances will be used by or on the protagonist is unclear.
The game will be an RPG like The Witcher 3 and videogame character progression will fit in well to Cyberpunk’s world of physical and mental augmentations.
It’s based on the Cyberpunk board games, the creator of which, Mike Pondsmith, has been working closely with the development team to ensure it stays true to the source material and doesn’t lose the Cyberpunk at its core.
This contrasts with the studio's relationship with the author of the Witcher novels, Andrzej Sapkowski, who has always been ambivalent about the games.
But there will be multiplayer elements
It was confirmed years ago that the game would have multiplayer elements but what exactly they’ll be is unclear. It was said, though, that the game would mainly focus on single player.
The company president said in March 2018 that these elements are not on the table right now, so it's possible that they'll be introduced after the game's release in a sort of online world like GTA Online.
There will be online
As well as multiplayer, CD Projekt's CEO has confirmed that there will also be online elements to the game. In an interview with Polish tech site Strefa Inwestorow Kiciński stated that “Online is necessary, or very recommended if you wish to achieve a long-term success. At some point, we have mentioned that there will be a certain online element related to Cyberpunk.”
In the same interview the CEO said that the team wanted to experiment in fields that weren't explored in The Witcher and that "we’re interested in Cyberpunk being commercially even more significant.“
Whether or not the online elements will feed into the multiplayer is unclear.
But there won't be microstransactions
Following the above interview for Strefa Inwestorow in which CD Projekt's CEO confirmed there would be online elements in the game fans began to fear that there would be an abundance of microstransactions involved.
The studio has since tweeted to quell these fears, stating that Cyberpunk 2077 will be "nothing less than" the Witcher 3, adding that players will "get what [they] pay for" with "no hidden catch."
It appears that while many studios are feeling the need to move to a service model to ensure their titles make money, CD Projekt is staying committed to the story-driven single player experience with Cyberpunk 2077, one which served them very well with The Witcher.
Things we'd like to see
Combat inspired by the original tabletop RPG
We know that the designer of the tabletop RPG Cybperunk on which Cyberpunk 2077 is based is heavily involved in the creation of the game. We hope his involvement extends to the game's combat because the combat system he created in his own game was fairly revolutionary for the tabletop genre.
Rather than involving drawn out and long turns, it was fast, brutal, gritty and overall perfectly suited to the spirit of Cyberpunk.
A big part of Cyberpunk combat involves upgrading your body with new abilities and robotics which would be perfectly in line with a video game character development system like those created by CD Projekt Red.
In Pondsmith's game bodily enhancement has to be carefully considered –
it's a balancing act where every benefit has a drawback. When a player makes robotic additions to themselves they reduce their humanity and empathy leading to an uncontrollable state of cyberpsychosis. This has the potential to be a really interesting system if it's adapted for the game and could be used in a similar manner to excessive consumption of combat-enhancing potions in The Witcher.
Keep checking back here for all the latest Cyberpunk 2077 news
- E3 is the world's largest exhibition for the games industry, stuffed full of the latest and greatest games and gaming hardware. TechRadar will be reporting live from Los Angeles all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated E3 2018 hub to see all the latest news from the show.
August 28, 2018 at 02:55AM
Emma Boyle
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