Cyberpunk 2077 could've been a fantastic way to end 2020 for gamers across the world. Now we work through the pain and disappointment.

Constructively.

The year-end holidays have always been the cherry to top off a (somewhat) productive year. A sacrosanct period for many where time off during the November and December period are sprinkled with friends, loved ones, and year-end vacations. With COVID-19, many travel plans were stuffed and replaced with digital entertainment leading to a surge in OTT media services such as Netflix and Disney+, and gaming to be at the forefront.

Personally, my vacations have always been forays into different digital playgrounds where I set aside time to fully indulge in the AAA video game releases alone or with my close friends. This year many more are taking the same path as me due to the pandemic keeping them indoors.

Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red (CDPR) was slated to be the gaming experience of 2020 with momentum close to a decade at its back, and many pundits were dusting the podium in preparation for the inevitable awards and accolades it would get. However, in the last few weeks since its release, coverage of the game has been mixed at best and has been considered as one of the biggest disasters for a launch in recent memory.

Seeing how things have been handled leading up to a disastrous release that has brought down what many considered an industry leader in the video game industry bears a great deal of heartache and I lament as a gamer. On the other hand, planning for and running campaigns leading up to reveals and launches is part of what we do for work, and in that, we see some lessons that could follow as all eyes are on how CDPR handles this. Buckle up for a breakdown as we learn and work through the disappointment.

The timelines set the scene - announcement to release

A PC Gamer article gives a comprehensive breakdown of the news and developments leading to Cyberpunk 2077’s fateful release on 10 December 2020 if you’d want to fully dissect it. Here are some of the key dates and events surrounding the development of the game that stood out to me.

31 May 2012 - Cyberpunk 2077 was first announced during the CD Projekt RED Group Summer Conference 2012 with the creator of the Cyberpunk game IP Mike Pondsmith showing his support and enthusiasm for the project, the name of the game wasn’t confirmed yet, but the lines in the sand were drawn with the promises laid out. CDPR was riding hot on the success of The Witcher 2 which was released on 17 May 2011 to glowing reviews and had upwards of 1.7 million copies sold by May 2012. This gave them the clout and confidence to make a statement with 6 promises that the game would stand for.

The 6 promises laid out in 2012: your mileage may vary

10 January 2013 - The first CG trailer was released, with Cyberpunk 2077 as the name of the game. The dark futuristic dystopian tone let the fans know that they meant business, but no release dates were announced.

9 October 2014 - Trouble in paradise rears its head as CDPR responds to accusations of bad treatment and crunch from an “anonymous insider” leading up to the development of The Witcher 3.

30 October 2015 - CDPR announces that their attention is on the development of Cyberpunk 2077 a few months after the release of The Witcher 3 on 19 May 2015. The Witcher 3 would go on to be a critical success and set the bar for video games and is still held in high regard up till today with up to 50 million copies sold as of 29 May 2020. These results would elevate the hopes and expectations of Cyberpunk 2077. Along with how CDPR released 16 free DLCs (downloadable content) for the game and added two successful expansions, the company had the Midas touch and respected the time and money of their fanbase. This positivity made the accusations and their alleged misgivings hold less weight.

10 January 2018 - Cyberpunk 2077’s Twitter account which had been silent since 5 December 2013 went *beep* on this day and set the space on fire. Minimal effort? Maybe. Maximum gains? Definitely.

22 June 2018 - Finally! A full trailer was released during Microsoft’s pre-e3 press conference. The hype is real and there were some concerns about the game being in first-person rather than the third-person gameplay that the company had been known for. With multiplayer teased, there was more speculation and buzz that CDPR let play out.

10 June 2019 - Keanu Reeves makes an appearance in the Microsoft Xbox E3 2019 press conference in all his full glory with another game trailer. His endorsement, the release date on 16 April 2020, and a wholesome meme made this a major win for CDPR.

And with this, you can achieve all your dreams

14 June 2019 - Crunch has been a huge pain point in the video games industry and often becomes a harsh reality when release dates draw closer. Burn out and a high attrition rate are the primary ills and its an issue that many developers want to change. With the new trailer and release date set, along with CDPR’s history with Crunch, head honcho Marcin Iwiński reiterated the company’s “non-obligatory crunch policy” as the solution to the problem: a stance that he made strongly in an earlier interview on 17 May 2019.

17 January 2020 - Timelines tend to shift even if crunch is involved, but not having crunch and still hitting the mark was tantamount to having your cake and eating someone else’s. The delay was announced and the new date was set to 17 September 2020. Fans aren’t complaining as much, and support for the decision to delay was almost unanimous.

17 March 2020 - COVID-19 took a running start and kicked everyone in the nuts. CDPR made the statement that everyone was doing fine, and that with the adjustments in place to deal with the outbreak, the game would still be on time for 17 September. Fans are concerned about the health and wellbeing of the developers and are still supportive of further delays.

19 June 2020 - Almost, but alas, no dice. CDPR announces the second delay shifting the finishing line to 19 November, there are some cracks as the sentiment shifts towards disgruntled fans being more prominent than supportive ones.

25 June 2020 - In response to the pandemic putting a half to conventions, CDPR released a series of promotional videos. The Night City Wire airs its first episode and would continue to do so leading up to the final release of the game. CDPR shares the other spinoffs from the game including a comic series in September and an anime series with Netflix slated for 2022. CDPR is making the best of a situation by keeping the pulse alive and teasing possibilities that will spawn from their video game.

30 September 2020 - A Bloomberg article reports that CDPR had gone back on its word and mandatory crunch was enforced. This is not a good look for them.

28 October 2020 - So close, yet so far, CDPR pushes the date back for the third time. 10 December and this time people aren’t holding their breath. This comes close to an earlier Tweet on 5 October that the game had gone gold. CDPR is going hot and going cold. The sentiments are leaning more towards dissatisfaction and anger. Close to release date meant that a good deal of people had taken time off to enjoy the game leading to a missed vacation in Night City. A day later on 29 October CEO Adam Kicinski would apologise to his employees for saying that crunch "not that bad—and never was." during an investor call.

Not all that glitters is gold - release and damage control

Cyberpunk 2077 finally made its 10 December release and that was when the issues tore through the seams. A hefty 25 - 30 GB day 1 patch could do little to stem the problems, and the performance on last-gen consoles bordered on an unplayable product. Coming clean on 14 December, CDPR Tweeted an apology for the subpar performance and that the game would be console ready by February next year while opening up channels for refunds.

Damage control was the order of the season. In an emergency conference call, board member Michał Nowakowski said that “the cost of patching the game is irrelevant compared to what we have already spent. So there’s no question – we definitely want to fix the game; we made a promise to gamers and we’ll be doing everything to stick with it.”

The ramifications of the reputation loss rippled to Sony offering a full refund of the game and removing the game from the store till further notice. Microsoft adopted a similar refund policy and added a disclaimer regarding performance issues for those willing to take a gamble.

Ooofff...

Despite a 30% drop to their stock price due to news of the lacklustre launch, CDPR still managed 13 million copies sold while factoring refunds. Cyberpunk 2077’s day 1 sales figures have covered the development and marketing costs of the game, making the destination to this journey a Pyrrhic victory at best.

Lessons and what-ifs - hindsight is 20/20 so are future eddies

The development and handling of Cyberpunk 2077’s timelines and expectations leading to launch hold some lessons and what-ifs that I feel could have been executed differently.

Initial announcement - a clear start but no end mentioned - 8 years is a long time for a product to be at the top-of-mind and relevant. The challenge of balancing the drip-feed of updates and content that leaves the media and fans wanting more before a serviceable launch is difficult to sustain with that time frame. Sharing their promises earlier on was a good starting move to commit to and the radio silence between 2013 and 2018 served them well. Ending the absence rekindled the interest, and CDPR used it to great effect at the start. Without a release date, CDPR gave themselves an open-ended timeline which served as an extended runway. That would work as long as it didn’t border on being indefinite and their plane had enough in the tank for liftoff. It might have been better to break the silence later.

Release date is set - working it backwards - Announcing the release date with Keanu Reeves on stage was CDPR firing on all cylinders. With the release date just under a year from that magical moment, there was enough time to match the right content to fuel the buzz, and all eyes from this point on were on CDPR. Before putting it forth, I have a feeling the discussions for the media collateral leading to release were discussed which made the Night City Wire series tight.

When you take a stance, do. Or do not. There is no try - CDPR had been under fire for crunch for their previous game. Though the results speak for themselves, it wasn’t a good direction for the industry. Though it worked well for them to take the lead, it would only work if they stayed true to what they said. As opposed to giving a blanket “no” regarding the subject of crunch, changes across industries don’t happen overnight. CDPR could’ve taken a softer approach if they knew it was unavoidable and said that they “were working on it”. Though what I’m saying might come across as unpopular, it would make compromises down the line less jarring instead of coming across as clear transgressions.

Delay me once, shame on you, delay me thrice, shame on both of us - With the announcement of the first delay, CDPR could’ve shifted it back further for more breathing space. They have garnered goodwill with their fanbase and gamers know that you shouldn’t rush a release if it’s not ready. If it were pushed back further, they could’ve either avoided crunch (partially at least) or go in with the news that it would be out earlier to sate the masses. COVID-19 was a legitimate reason and could’ve been perfect for them to reasonably extend that release date further, it was in my opinion, a missed opportunity to manage the timeline. Each subsequent delay came at shorter notice, with shorter time which I find a poor way to squander the patience and goodwill of the fanbase.

Spinoffs are distractions at best if the main product isn’t ready - Announcing the comic and anime series felt like an undersized band-aid to the problem. As a fan, personally, I would be delighted to delve into the Cyberpunk universe, but my eyes are on the prize and these spinoffs are positioned even further from what everyone wants - the full game.

Meaningful content and community engagement would ease a bumpy ride - What CDPR did with their Night City Wire video series was perfect, and could’ve worked even if offline events were a viable option. Devlogs have always been popular, and by peering under the hood, we would see more interest for aspects of the game that can be better explained, and greater understanding for any present or further delays. With gaming coverage from popular YouTube and Twitch channels, discussions and additional UGC (user-generated content) spawned from each episode with breakdowns and more questions asked. Through the video series, community managers could assuage news of the delays, talk to the fans and turn sentiments around from impatience back to anticipation.

Cyberpunk 2077 - an experience and a lesson

The reputation that CDPR had spent more than a decade creating was hacked away under a month. Companies will take a page from this case study and I feel that we will see more businesses take on a pseudo “stealth mode” and delay any initial announcements. We have seen it work for titles such as Fallout 4 which released a trailer in June 2015 that stated a November 2015 release, keeping the marketing runway short and sharp. Sony knowing that game development can be a “highly experimental” process opted to keep silent on breaking any new regarding Ghost of Tsushima on the PS4 till it was close to release.

It is safe to say that the fiscal profit CDPR made from Cyberpunk 2077 would possibly be overshadowed by the other unseen costs of repairing their reputation and dealing with lawsuits that have come their way. This incident has shown that we need greater scrutiny and accountability across the board and serves as a reminder that you only have one chance to make a good first impression.

(P.S. I've been keeping a video game journal of sorts for the games I play, do check it out and we would be glad to connect over a discussion or hit me up in game!)

Here's hoping CDPR bounces back with more vigour than a magical stuffed unicorn