Many of those in the video game community may have forgotten by now, but when Cyberpunk 2077 was still in production, the game had a multiplayer component in the works. What started off as an additional mode turned into a complete spin-off title that would act as its own entity. Fast forward to December 2022, well after the now infamous launch, and some more information has come about in regard to that title. In an interview with Eurogamer, Cyberpunk 2077 Senior Quest Designer and Coordinator Philipp Weber states that the multiplayer game was quietly canceled due to the turbulent launch of the main game, essentially ending its production in the process.
According to Weber, the entire company needed to shift all focus to fixing Cyberpunk 2077 when it was released in December 2020. This in turn caused any titles, projects, and other alleyways and avenues that were being worked on to be dropped on the spot. “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.” Weber said. Weber also mentioned that the core experience for Cyberpunk 2077 was extremely important and necessitated the stoppage of other projects.
In short, the unfortunate launch of the main title ended any hopes of having the multiplayer spin-off see the light of day. That launch, which has been well documented for nearly two years now, almost single-handedly ruined CD Projekts Red’s reputation overnight. Thankfully, the company has been working hard to bring themselves back in the good graces of its fan base. This includes several updates, one of which was a next-generation patch, an official expansion, and a full-blown sequel.