Current Events > Inside Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous rollout (article)

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Interviews with more than 20 current and former CD Projekt staff, most of whom requested anonymity so as not to risk their careers, depict a development process marred by unchecked ambition, poor planning and technical shortcomings. Employees, discussing the games creation for the first time, described a company that focused on marketing at the expense of development, and an unrealistic timeline that pressured some into working extensive overtime long before the final push. CD Projekt declined to comment on the process or provide interviews for this story.

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Adrian Jakubiak, a former audio programmer for CD Projekt, said one of his colleagues asked during a meeting how the company thought it would be able to pull off a technically more challenging project in the same timeframe as The Witcher. Someone answered: We'll figure it out along the way, he said.

For years, CD Projekt had thrived on that mentality. But this time, the company wasnt able to pull it off. I knew it wasn't going to go well, said Jakubiak. I just didn't know how disastrous it would be.

[...]

Much of CD Projekts focus, according to several people who worked on Cyberpunk 2077, was on impressing the outside world. A slice of gameplay was showcased at E3, the industrys main trade event, in 2018. It showed the main character embarking on a mission, giving players a grand tour of the seedy, crime-ridden Night City.

Fans and journalists were wowed by Cyberpunk 2077s ambition and scale. What they didnt know was that the demo was almost entirely fake. CD Projekt hadnt yet finalized and coded the underlying gameplay systems, which is why so many features, such as car ambushes, were missing from the final product. Developers said they felt like the demo was a waste of months that should have gone toward making the game.

[...]

As the launch date drew closer, everyone at the studio knew the game was in rough shape and needed more time, according to several people familiar with the development. Chunks of dialogue were missing. Some actions didnt work properly. When management announced in October that the game had gone gold that it was ready to be pressed to discs there were still major bugs being discovered. The game was delayed another three weeks as exhausted programmers scrambled to fix as much as they could.

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2021-01-16/cyberpunk-2077-what-caused-the-video-game-s-disastrous-rollout (more in the article)

Pretty damning stuff tbh
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Not really surprising, bit off more than they can chew

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teepan95 posted...

What they didnt know was that the demo was almost entirely fake. CD Projekt hadnt yet finalized and coded the underlying gameplay systems, which is why so many features, such as car ambushes, were missing from the final product. Developers said they felt like the demo was a waste of months that should have gone toward making the game.

Lmao, what a fucking shitshow.

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Lol

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They spent months on a demo that wasnt actually game?

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Demo for reveals and showcases for investors is standard practices, but making a light-show demo to entice investors (who promptly sued after being tricked lmao) and actively hurting your own dev time is major lawls

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What evidence is there that the demo was faked?

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Lol
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Up
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No ones cares anymore.

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You'd think after Bioware's Anthem and Andromeda game companies would learn to not repeat the same mistakes. But I guess not.

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Thanks for reminding me I need to finish this game sometime.

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They done Sean Murrayed it.

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Funkydog posted...

You'd think after Bioware's Anthem and Andromeda game companies would learn to not repeat the same mistakes. But I guess not.

Developers. Developers never change
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teepan95 posted...

Developers. Developers never change

Nah, I think the devs are well aware. But the higher ups continue to not care and a choice of being jobless or not means many will just suck it up.

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Lol shit company

From B class company to shittiest company

CD Projekt

Some people will defend those shit company.
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I don't think you said 'shit' enough times

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So now CDPR is in the same boat as Bioware and Bethesda.

Are there any heroes left

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From Software

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I felt witcher 1 and 2 were 7/10 games with decent stories. Cyberpunk is a 7/10 game too if it didn't have all the bugs. Witcher 3 was a fluke. It was carried by its outstanding writing and setting, but it's combat was ass. They got lucky with witcher 3 and it went to their heads.

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Ivynn posted...

Are there any heroes left

Even Supergiant did some sus stuff recently
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"Another indication of how CD Projekt stretched things too far was that it tried to develop the engine technology behind Cyberpunk 2077, most of which was brand new, simultaneously with the game, which slowed down production. One member of the team compared the process to trying to drive a train while the tracks are being laid in front of you at the same time. It might have gone more smoothly if the track-layers had a few months head start."

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2021-01-16/cyberpunk-2077-what-caused-the-video-game-s-disastrous-rollout
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This was a surprise? Yoshinori Kitase in a 2010 interview on developing the Crystal Tools engine while developing Final Fantasy games said:

"I think that instead of developing something completely new, we would try our hand at improving upon existing technology. Tools and engines improve through a process of trial and error and countless revisions, and thats what really makes them more efficient."

https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/10/the-making-of-final-fantasy-xiii.aspx
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Cyberpunk 2077 has more growing pains to go through. Anyone who chose/chooses to get it right away will have to suffer along with them.

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Their arrogance is staggering
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Bump
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Kinda sick of hearing about all the dogpiling that's going on. I wish game journos would take actual scam games like FIFA and Madden to task like this, but that doesn't get clicks I guess.

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i don't understand the obsession with the witcher they're very mid games

teepan95 posted...

Even Supergiant did some sus stuff recently

What'd they do?

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pogo_rabid posted...

Kinda sick of hearing about all the dogpiling that's going on. I wish game journos would take actual scam games like FIFA and Madden to task like this, but that doesn't get clicks I guess.

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Honestly most games (well specifically AAA games) are developed like this. It's all up to management and the team to wrap it up in just the right way. It's a shame because things would be so much better if they waited another year. They'll barely have any competition next year anyway.

pogo_rabid posted...

Kinda sick of hearing about all the dogpiling that's going on. I wish game journos would take actual scam games like FIFA and Madden to task like this, but that doesn't get clicks I guess.

What story do you expect that to be? They churn out the games every year and loot box mechanics sell. There's nothing else to really say about it.

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averagejoel posted...

How is the game transphobic?

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They also fixed the 8mb save limit last month.

EDIT- and it was only affecting people who used duplication glitches and whatnot. People who played the game normally were unaffected.

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I'll never trust a major dev again after this but I was already done getting hyped for games after fallout 4.

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008Zulu posted...

averagejoel posted...

How is the game transphobic?

There was an in-game ad fetishizing trans people and nothing condemning it or otherwise saying it was wrong
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They thought they were representing trans people, but all they did was just parade them around. Some were offended but didn't seem like the community was in uproar about it, more or less had the attitude of "eh, we're used to it."

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teepan95 posted...

There was an in-game ad fetishizing trans people and nothing condemning it or otherwise saying it was wrong

And once transgenderism becomes more mainstream and socially acceptable, do you believe they will be exploited any less than anyone else?

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I remember when CE was all "CD best devs, they really love me and care about me as a consumer"

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teepan95 posted...

There was an in-game ad fetishizing trans people and nothing condemning it or otherwise saying it was wrong

That isnt transphobic.

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