What just happened? Cyberpunk 2077 is finally just around the corner: in a few short weeks, players will be walking the streets of Night City in this long-awaited sci-fi RPG from CD Projekt Red. Today, the game has officially “gone gold,” meaning it’s content complete, mostly polished, and ready to ship out on discs.
Cyberpunk 2077 going gold is excellent news for gamers. It means the title will almost certainly not be delayed a third time, and reviewers will likely be able to get their hands on it very soon. Cyberpunk 2077 is set to launch on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 come November 19. As long as you grab a copy of Cyberpunk 2077 on current devices, you’ll get a free next-gen copy as well, playable when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hit the market.
Reaching this point hasn’t been easy for CD Projekt Red’s workers. As we reported last week, Cyberpunk 2077’s developers are currently undergoing a period of mandatory crunch. They have to work five full workdays, and then one weekend day per week. Unlike many US studios, however, Poland-based CD Projekt Red pays its employees appropriately for these extra hours, so they are at least well-compensated for the extra effort.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) October 5, 2020
Compensation aside, this new initiative goes against CD Projekt Red’s previous claims that it would not be instituting a mandatory crunch policy for 2077’s development. It seems even with two delays under its belt, the game is still too broad in scope to hit its targeted November 19 release date without some last-minute overtime.