Since its late 2020 release, Cyberpunk 2077 has held a stigma it's yet to break free from. Many felt betrayed by developer CD Projekt RED, who had previously released games such as the highly-praised The Witcher 3. With the hope that Cyberpunk 2077 would improve over time, 2021 came and went with very little to show. However, with the studio's plans for 2022, it could finally be the year for Cyberpunk's redemption.
Cyberpunk 2077 had expert marketing, and the hype for release outmatched any game of 2020. After numerous delays, the expectations of quality continuously raised to new heights, making the state of the game's release all the more painful. With bugs plaguing every version of the game, many players found their copies barely playable. PC players got the better end of the bargain, but those on old generation consoles quickly discovered the game was a complete mess.
What hurt players more was the fact Cyberpunk 2077 had so much potential. The basis of a great game hid underneath all the bugs and questionable design choices. But it's also why many people have kept hope. Knowing that all is not lost for Cyberpunk, the hope was that throughout 2021, the game would receive numerous patches and updates to create the game that was originally advertised.
While the game did receive a steady amount of updates over the year, it wasn't what most fans had hoped for. With just how messy the release was, almost the entirety of 2021 was spent fixing the game and bringing it to a playable state. While the bug fixes and performance were a priority, it meant no time to improve mechanics and add new content. With the next-gen console release getting delayed, 2021 ended very uneventfully. However, it was necessary to prepare the game for what was to come. Cyberpunk 2077 is in a much better state than launch, so adding new content can finally begin, and many wait with bated breath to see if CD Projekt RED provides.
First on the game's timeline is the next-gen patch, currently said to release in Q1 of 2022. While there have been a lack of details, it's said to be the largest update for the game by far. After such a long silence on updates, many hope it'll be a soft relaunch. The release on the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X would be the perfect time to add new content and improve the existing gameplay, enticing players new and old.
Despite the update rumors and speculation, many are waiting to see what's announced before getting excited again. Looking beyond the update, the Cyberpunk roadmap still gives a vague promise of the game's first expansion, set for late 2022. The plethora of feedback from the release would be the perfect time to show that players haven't been shouting into the void. While new areas to explore are always nice, an improvement to the RPG elements would be most welcome. With better player customization, more dialogue choices and vehicle improvements, a large expansion could offer players what they wanted all along.
The expansion releasing late 2022 is still an uncertainty, but something that's guaranteed to keep going is the modding scene. A steady release of new mods come out daily, many of which vastly improve the game. New vehicles, graphics options and weapon balances help bring the game to a more polished state, and it's a safe bet to say more game-changing mods will come in time. However, it's unfortunate that there's no modding support currently for consoles.
So despite many people losing faith in CD Projekt RED, the fixes of 2021 have set them up for a year of repletion. Only time will tell if the new content will match the quality of DLC added to The Witcher 3.