by Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has revealed that the game’s multiplayer has been scrapped due to the game’s tumultuous launch.
During an interview with Eurogamer, Philipp Weber (who was a lead quest designer and coordinator on Cyberpunk 2077) revealed how development shifted to focus on fixing what was there rather than adding new features.
“We really had to look at what the priorities are for cyberpunk [after it launched],” he said. “The priority was that the main experience for people will be in a really good state, and essentially the shift in priorities meant that other R&D projects had to be shut down. With Cyberpunk, we wanted to do a lot of things at the same time , and we just had to really focus and say, ‘Okay, what’s the important part? Yeah, we’re going to do that part really well.'”
Cyberpunk 2077, which was recently confirmed as Game of the Year Edition, was originally going to get a multiplayer mode as DLC. However, this was pushed back to at least 2022 and later delayed even further with the possibility of cancellation, until eventually it simply vanished from CD Projekt Red’s plans.
Cyberpunk 2077 was among the most anticipated games to be released in 2020, but a launch riddled with glaring bugs and last-gen compatibility issues left many pissed off.
The game itself scored fairly highly on PC – IGN’s own rating gave it a 9/10, saying, “Cyberpunk 2077 kicks you into its beautiful and dazzlingly dense cityscape with few caveats. Offering an amazing array of ways to build your character, tackle quests, and confront enemies, your choices can have a tangible and natural impact on both the world around you and the stories of the people who inhabit them.
That wasn’t the case on console, however, as our own PS4 and Xbox One review gave the game a 4/10. “The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions just aren’t in an acceptable state and it saddens me to think that so many people have their first Cyberpunk 2077 experience ruined in this way – because if it works, it is.” it’s a fantastic role-playing game.”
It turns out the developers themselves didn’t think the game was ready to ship, with some saying that they “expected the game to be ready in 2022” based on the progress they saw in 2019.
Despite that, the game was released in 2020, and while CD Projekt Red originally intended to add multiplayer at a later date, it looks like they’ve stayed on the backfoot for the following two years, patching and fixing Cyberpunk.
The Edgerunners update was released in September as the final patch for last-gen consoles, with CD Projekt Red now focusing exclusively on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC versions of the game. This also applies to Cyberpunk 2077’s major single-player expansion, which is expected to arrive sometime in 2023.
Want to read more about Cyberpunk 2077? Check out the mod that adds Edgerunners’ Cyberpsycho Risk to the game, and see what to expect from the game’s upcoming official novel.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. you can follow him Twitter.
