Today, developer CD Projekt Red took to Twitter to announce the delay of one of the most anticipated games of 2020, Cyberpunk 2077. At E3 2019, they announced a release date of April 16, 2020. Now, Cyberpunk 2077 will launch on September 17, 2020. Due to the new release date, CD Projekt Red has also revealed that the planned multiplayer component set to be released after the launch of the game in 2021 will be released at a later time.
Co-Founder Marcin Iwinski and Head of Studio Adam Badowski issued a statement about the delay. It reads, “We have important news regarding Cyberpunk 2077‘s release date we’d like to share with you today. Cyberpunk 2077 won’t make the April release window and we’re moving the launch date to September 17, 2020. We are currently at a stage thawhere the game is complete and playable, but there’s still work to be done. Night City is massive – full of stories, content and places to visit, but due to the sheer scale and complexity of it all, we need more time to finish playtesting, fixing and polishing. We want Cyberpunk 2077 to be our crowning achievement for this generation and postponing launch will give us the precious months we need to make the game perfect.” While many might see the delay as something negative, especially after announcing a date, keep in mind that making games takes a lot of time, and after working on The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red has stated that they would take more time so they don’t overwork themselves as much as they had to.
Following the delay, CD Projekt Red held a press conference with investors and discussed the news and answered questions. One of the questions concerned the multiplayer aspect of the game since that was planned to come out after Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch. Michal Nowakowski, CD Projekt Red’s Member of the Board and SVP of Business Development said, “Given the expected release of Cyberpunk 2077 in September, and speaking of a series of events we expect to occur after that date, 2021 appears unlikely as a release date for the Cyberpunk multiplayer.”
Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the only game that was delayed this week. Final Fantasy VII Remake was delayed to April 10 and Marvel’s Avengers was delayed to September 4.