A better way out?. Forgive Cyberpunk. Gimme Dying Light 2!
Table of Contents
I think that the cases of Cyberpunk 2077 and Dying Light 2 are similar. Both games must have encountered serious problems. And let's get one thing out of the way: contemporary video games are among the more complex products of our times. Creating every big title is bound to cause you troubles. And it doesn't always get easier with smaller games. What seems important is the approach of both companies to this situation.
Cyberpunk 2077 was supposed to launch on April 16th, September 17th, November 19th, and eventually ended up releasing on December 10th. Let's also bear in mind that – given the technical condition – this game could have easily used another two or three months of delay. It was a real rollercoaster, and many folks were pretty frustrated with the release-date merry-go-round.
The creators of Dying Light 2 assumed a completely different approach. Although they claimed that their game will be ready in the spring of 2020, when they realized they couldn't meet this deadline, they announced in January 2020 that they were postponing the release indefinitely. This way, they avoided juggling the release date from summer to autumn to winter.
But they went into another extreme. On the one hand, we have empty promises, and on the other, we have no information whatsoever.
For fans, none of these approaches is really good. Both are problematic. I count myself among huge fans of Dying Light and I'm much more excited about playing the new installment than Cyberpunk. Therefore, I would like to hear something concrete about this game; any assurance that I will live to see it would be nice. However, I guess I would be more nervous about subsequent delays than this silence.
But let us remember those who create this game. It seems – and I hope I'm not mistaken – that Techland's approach may be better for the developers themselves. A specific daily release date is hardly the embodiment of "when it's done" philosophy. More often than not, it's the embodiment of crunch, posing a risk of aspersions being cast on the developers. I do not mean to say I'm gullible enough to believe that the team preparing Dying Light 2 isn't working under time pressure, but maybe less so than if there were calendars hanging on the walls of the studio with the date marked in red.
Yesterday I wasn't so sure about that, but today, when we know what Cyberpunk 2077 looks like after the launch-day patch, I can safely say that Techland's approach is better. The pressure of subsequent specific dates turned out to be too strong for the CD Projekt RED. Maybe they should have announced at the beginning of the year that the game needed more time, and come back with a release date later, confident that this is the day "when it's done?"
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for Techland to confirm my words and, when it's the time is ripe, show a game worth waiting for.
