cyberpunk 2077 It has been marked by having one of the most disastrous launches in the recent history of the video game industry. Although the CD Projekt RED title has improved drastically since then, the stigma of that first version that arrived on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in late 2020 has not been completely removed. And the studio itself believes that many of the criticisms were unfair.
Michal Platkow-Gilewskivice president of public relations and communication for CD Projekt RED, assured that many of the initial negative comments against cyberpunk 2077 they were exaggerated. In an interview with GamesIndustry.bizthe executive maintained that, beyond the real problems of the game, a kind of “fashion” was generated that led many to reject it without grounds.
“I truly believe that the release of cyberpunk 2077 it was much better than it was received, and even the first reviews were positive. then it became something cool you didn’t like the game. We went from heroes to zeros very quickly,” Platkow-Gilewski said.
The CD Projekt RED executive acknowledged that the studio reached “a critical mass of negativity” following the disastrous reception of cyberpunk 2077, but that they got down to work to amend it. “We knew that the game was great. We understood that we could improve it, that we would need to take the time to do it and that we should rebuild some things. That took us a long time, but I think we never broke,” he reflected.
cyberpunk 2077 and the path of reconstruction
We said at the beginning that today cyberpunk 2077 It is not the same as that controversial launch. In fact, already a year after its release, the game showed a level of maturity more consistent with what it should have offered at first. And as the months go by was solidifying its resurgence within the community gamer. Let’s not forget that, as of October 2022, it had already sold over 20 million copies, and was averaging 1 million daily players on Steam.
Platkow-Gilewski acknowledged that, after the difficult start, they have devoted their energies to rebuild the relationship with the playersand that the DLC Phantom Liberty It is a crucial part of making it happen. “Yes, we were expecting a different release for cyberpunk 2077, but now we have another opportunity in front of us. As the head of communication, I want to rebuild the connection with the players, because we had people who followed us for years and left disappointed. That is, for me, the most important thing. We have to make the game for them,” she said.
In case of cyberpunk 2077 It will surely go down in history as one of the most peculiar in the industry. The project generated great expectation, especially due to the involvement of a Hollywood figure such as Keanu Reeves. However, its launch was plagued with problems, with countless bugs and poor performance on consoles. To which was added a cyberattack against CD Projekt RED that led to the massive theft of data, including the game’s source code.
The Polish studio faced class action lawsuits and regulatory pressure, and even provided refunds to those who were dissatisfied with cyberpunk 2077. The title quickly became the laughingstock of the industry, but it withstood the blows and re-emerged as a more than decent proposition. and the expansion Phantom Libertywhich arrives in September, aspires to make forget the headaches of the past.
