Cyberpunk 2077 cancels its multiplayer after CD Projekt reconsiders it. The Polish studio is backtracking on these plans following the messy launch of the main game. They have just released patch 1.2 for consoles and PC.
The studio intends to incorporate multiplayer in future installments, accompanied by a new technology they are developing, instead of launching it as a separate game as they had originally planned. Right now they have just welcomed the important patch 1.2, which adds more than 500 improvements to the PC and console versions (PS4, Xbox One); Later it will be available on Stadia as well.
CD Projekt drops Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer
CD Projekt has laid out an entire strategy to fix the problem Cyberpunk 2077 has been since its gimmicky debut. The company’s president and deputy CEO, Adam Kiciński, maintains that they have “reconsidered” their plans for the game. And that has pushed multiplayer off their horizon. What’s moving forward are the DLC and expansions for the main game, the names, and details of which were leaked yesterday.
As for the multiplayer, CD Projekt indicated back in January 2020 that this online mode would be a “triple-A” release rather than an add-on to Cyberpunk 2077. Thus, last November Kiciński qualified his words by adding that this aspect of the game is “a separate dedicated production, a big production. We think of it as a standalone product”.
Multiplayer is out of the picture now
Despite these ambitious plans, CD Projekt seems to have preferred to take care of itself and focus its efforts first on fixing the main game. In the video we have left you above these lines, published last Tuesday, Kiciński expressed the following regarding this multiplayer mode: “Previously we hinted that our next triple-A would be a multiplayer Cyberpunk, but we have reconsidered this”.
He then added: “Given our new more systematic and agile approach, rather than focusing primarily on one big online experience or game, we are focusing on incorporating online into all of our sagas one day.”
In a conference call, Kiciński was asked to confirm which games are currently in the development pipeline within the CD Projekt Red offices. Regarding multiplayer games, he indicated the following, “We are changing our focus, so we want to have online in our future games, definitely, but step by step. So, we are working on specific features that will improve our single-player games, but we are not working on launching the next game as a big online experience. Therefore, we will enhance our single-player games with online experiences.”
“The only change is that we are still working on it, but not as if it were the main production line, but as a supporting production line alongside our single-player productions,” he clarifies. “We believe that our ideas, once revealed, will be very exciting for players as an additional experience that will be tailored to our single-player games.”
In this past Tuesday’s video, Kiciński assured that CD Projekt RED is building a technological framework that will allow it to introduce online elements in its future games. But its efforts will be primarily focused on developing single-player experiences. “Let’s emphasize this here, CD Projekt Red makes AAA role-playing games based on single-player stories, that’s not changing. What is changing is our long-term approach to online,” he says.
New tech for online gaming
Thus, CD Projekt is currently working on finding ways to implement the online components without sacrificing “the DNA” of its single-player games. “We want to take thoughtful steps to create robust online capabilities,” he maintains. He also added that they are developing “an online technology” that will be integrated into the production of their “future games.” In this regard, he adds, “This technology will drive the online components that we decide to introduce in our games.”
