A hot potato: It’s no secret that Cyberpunk 2077 disappointed many people, especially those unfortunate enough to have bought a copy for a last-gen console, but developer CD Projekt said next-gen (or current-gen, to be more accurate) versions of both its futuristic RPG and The Witcher 3 would arrive this year. Now, however, the company warns that it can’t guarantee they will launch in 2021.
Witcher 3 fans were excited by last September’s news that the game would be getting a remaster for current-gen platforms. Not only will it be free to owners of the console versions, but an enhanced PC edition is also being given away to those who own a copy on the platform.
CD Projekt Red made the same offer to Cyberpunk 2077 owners in June, which should bring a more PC-like version of the game to the PS5 and XBSX/S.
— The Witcher (@witchergame) September 4, 2020
As one might expect, these upgraded versions promise to take advantage of all the latest hardware available, from improved effects, including ray tracing in the case of The Witcher 3, to faster loading times.
Both the updates are supposed to launch later this year, and that’s still the target, but in its latest H1 2021 results call (via VGC), CD Projekt SVP of business development, Michał Nowakowski, warned that the next-gen Cyberpunk 2077 update might not arrive in 2021. “Keeping in mind the lessons we have learned during the past year and taking into account that this project still remains in development, we can’t say with full certainty that the production schedule will not change,” he said.
It’s a similar story with The Witcher 3’s upgrade, which is in the hands of an external company. “With The Witcher 3, the situation is slightly different in the way that this is being tackled by the external team mainly, which is Saber Interactive, the company that we have worked with before on Switch and also with updates in the past,” Nowakowski added.
“As with Cyberpunk 2077, our goal is to release that game still in late 2021. However, similarly, the development process is ongoing, and we cannot be absolutely dead certain that the release schedule will not change. But for the time being, we definitely are aiming with both titles for late 2021 and I don’t want to be more specific at this moment in time.”
Seen all the patch notes, I have to say this focus on cosmetic issues seems like a PR strategy. Very disappointing. We, as players, have a great deal of patience when it comes to bugs and visual glitches. We want better systems. Crowd, NPC and police AI. Next gen update! :(
— Tommy Sollén (@tommysollen) August 17, 2021
CD Projekt confirmed that over a third of the company is working on the Cyberpunk 2077 upgrade in addition to supporting the original game, the latter of which recently received its biggest patch to date bundled with some DLC. But given that the new content was little more than an alternate appearance for Johnny Silverhand, two new Jackets for V, and a new vehicle called the Archer Quartz “Bandit,” those hoping for more were far from happy.