Xbox One owners had a bit of a scare this week, after it was revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed due to performance issues on the console.
Originally pencilled in for an April 16 release, Cyberpunk 2077 was pushed back until September on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
In a letter addressed to fans, CD Projekt said that while Cyberpunk 2077 was in a playable state, it wasn’t quite ready for launch.
“We have important news regarding Cyberpunk 2077’s release date we’d like to share with you today,” CD Projekt explains.
“Cyberpunk 2077 won’t make the April release window and we’re moving the launch date to 17 September, 2020.
“We are currently at a stage where the game is complete and playable, but there’s still work to be done. Night City is massive – full of stories, content and places to visit, but due to the sheer scale and complexity of it all, we need more time to finish playtesting, fixing and polishing.
“We want Cyberpunk 2077 to be our crowning achievement for this generation and postponing launch will give us the precious months we need to make the game perfect.”
In the weeks that followed, rumours suggested that the decision to delay the game was due to optimisation issues on the base Xbox One.
Fortunately, however, CD Projekt (with a little help from God of War director Corey Barlog) has denied the reports.
Balrog tweeted his support for the studio, telling fans that every game runs badly in the final push before going gold.
CD Projekt backed up the claims, telling forum readers that “Cory Barlog hit the nail on the head”.
“Of course we’re optimising for the Xbox One, and for the Playstation, and for the PC, because that’s what you do in the last stretches of game development.
“While the game is made, lots of things are unoptimised, because they’re all in flux, changing, and still not finished.
“So simple answers like ‘They delayed the game because of X’ might make for a good rumour, but don’t hold a lot of truth. There’s always many reasons. Among them, and I can speak for myself, simply fixing bugs, so the game is as polished as possible.
“No hidden agendas, just working on making the game better.”
Of course, when Cyberpunk 2077 was first shown to the public, many fans believed it was a next-gen game due to its impressive size, scope and visuals.
Cyberpunk 2077 is described as an open-world, action-adventure game set in the futuristic location of Night City.
“You play as V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality,” reads the official description.
“You can customise your character’s cyberware, skillset and playstyle, and explore a vast city where the choices you make shape the story and the world around you.”
As the description suggests, different players will have a vastly altered experience based on their approach to gameplay.