CDP Explains Where Cyberpunk 2077's Multiplayer Went
CD Projekt RED has finally admitted what happened to plans to release Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer mode after the game's launch.
Multiplayer mode was supposed to be one of the highlights we'll see after launch Cyberpunk 2077. Today, almost two years after the game's debut, CD Projekt Red has explained why Cyberpunk's multiplayer has never been released.
Philipp Weber - formerly a senior task designer for Cyberpunk 2077, now narrative director of the new The Witcher - was one of the developer's employees recently interviewed by Robert Purchese from Eurogamer. It was he who revealed to the journalist why CDPR backed out of releasing the game's multiplayer mode.
Weber's explanation probably won't surprise anyone. After the problematic launch of Cyberpunk 2077 the priority of the team was to fix the game. Thus patching the basic version of the game pulled many CD Projekt employees away from working on development projects - such as the multiplayer mode.
"The priority was that the main experience will run for the people in a really good state, and essentially, the switch of priorities meant that other R&D projects had to go away. With Cyberpunk, we wanted to do many things at the same time, and we just needed to really focus and say, 'Okay, what's the important part? Yeah, we will make that part really good.'"
CD Projekt Group had already been apologizing for the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, but until now it has not openly mentioned it in the context of de facto cancellation of the multiplayer mode. The mode was originally supposed to be a network module, but then it was announced that multiplayer would be a separate game.
Also this was abandoned in March 2021, as the developers focused on developing "technology so that one day we will get online elements for all the company's brands." Once again, the cancellation of the multiplayer mode was confirmed six months later.
In November 2021 it was mentioned, that the Cyberpunk and The Witcher series were to gradually receive network features. CD Projekt Group reminded of this two months ago.
