A Cyberpunk 2077 developer has expressed gratitude over the game's recent resurgence, two years after it launched to scathing criticism.
As per GameSpot, quest director Paweł Sasko became emotional on his personal Twitch stream when discussing Cyberpunk 2077's launch and the shift in opinion towards the game within the community. Sasko said it was "unreal" to see players beginning to appreciate the hard work his development studio CD Projekt RED put into creating Cyberpunk 2077 and its futuristic Night City setting. "It's hard to express... When you're putting so much heart and soul into something, for some of us it's been six, seven, eight years sometimes," Sasko said on the livestream. "To have this moment, of people liking something that we did, is really feeling a bit unreal. That finally people are appreciating it. It's good to be back, it's f***ing good to be back, honestly."
Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most anticipated games of 2020, having sold 8 million copies on preorder before it had even launched. However, following its release in December 2020, fans and critics savaged the game and its developer for the sheer number of game-breaking bugs present in the retail build, with many dubbing it unplayable. Critics were particularly harsh on the game's performance on the aging Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles. The backlash was so intense that Sony ultimately removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the Playstation Store for over half a year while CD Projekt RED worked diligently on fixing the problems.
Despite Cyberpunk 2077 initial problems, CD Projekt RED has slowly rehabilitated the game's image and seen its fanbase snowball. The game recently beat The Witcher 3's concurrent player record, also developed by CDPR, seeing a jump from its previous high of 30,000 to well over 135,000 individual players. The Witcher 3's previous record was around 103,000 concurrent players, showing how fans have taken to Cyberpunk 2077 in their droves.
Netflix’s New Cyberpunk Anime Influenced the Game's Resurgence
Cyberpunk 2077's resurgence in popularity can be chalked up to the runaway success of Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series, which premiered earlier in September. The series is set in Cyberpunk 2077's Night City and follows David Martinez, a gifted teenager who drops out of his prestigious school following a sudden tragedy and falls into the seedy underworld of edgerunner mercenaries. Developed in partnership with CD Projekt RED, the show has received glowing reviews from critics for its story-telling and world-building. Industry figures such as Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima have also praised the series, who particularly enjoyed Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' traditional Japanese animation style.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Source: Reddit, via GameSpot