Can CD Projekt Red Bounce Back From the Cyberpunk 2077 Controversy?
Cyberpunk 2077's launch was far less impressive than many had hoped. That's not to say that it's a bad game by any stretch, but what was there was marred by a metric-ton of bugs that plagued a game that still wasn't quite what many players thought it was going to be. Considering this was one of, if not the most hyped game in recent memory, CD Projekt Red has taken quite a bit of flak for Cyberpunk 2077's launch state.
This has left a lot of fans questioning whether or not CD Projekt Red's reputation is going to be able to bounce back. The developer has been working to update and improve Cyberpunk 2077 since launch, and quite a few of the issues have been solved, while certain gameplay quibbles have been improved. It's not the game fans were hoping for, but CD Projekt Red is hard at work trying to make the experience better nonetheless. The question now is going to be whether or not the company can do enough to ever have the same reputation it enjoyed after The Witcher 3.
There's no beating around the bush: The Witcher 3 was an incredible achievement and a massive success for CD Projekt Red. It's not as if the company was an unknown before, but The Witcher 3 catapulted it into the spotlight in a special way. And for good reason: it's a superb game. The Witcher 3 did have a pretty rough launch (similar to Cyberpunk 2077), but over time, the issues with it were fixed, and there was a lot of post-launch content that was some of the best DLC seen in quite a while.
All of this combined to make CD Projekt Red's next project one of the most anticipated games of 2020. Not only was it going to be another RPG, but it was going to be a game set in a cyberpunk open world, which isn't done all that often. Anticipation was high, and while nothing could have matched the hype, it's understandable how some fans are a little let down.
But it's important to remember why The Witcher 3 has enjoyed the success that it has. It didn't launch the masterpiece that it is today; it became that over time with updates, and with expansions. With some time, Cybperunk 2077 could get the same treatment. There's a much bigger hill to climb, but if there's anything true of the gaming industry, it's that fans should never say never.
Memories can be short, and that's especially true in gaming. Many developers have released games that have been much bigger flops than Cyberpunk 2077 was/has been, and the companies have been able to recover. No Man's Sky is the go-to example. Hello Games was publicly panned for the state that it launched in, but over time, No Man's Sky has improved and is almost unrecognizable. The developer seems to be widely praised for the work it's done, and a lot of players are not only excited to see what's coming to NMS next, but they're excited to see what the next big launch for Hello Games is going to be.
The point is, CD Projekt Red can dig itself out of the hole. This isn't unfamiliar territory for a company to find itself in, and it's not even quite unfamiliar territory for CD Projekt Red even if it's worse this go around. Over time, with some updates and with a little bit of patience from the players, Cyberpunk 2077 could quite possibly grow into a masterpiece itself. And from there, players are likely going to be excited to see what CD Projekt Red has next on its agenda.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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