In news which is likely to come as both a shock and a disappointment to a great many eager gamers, CD Projekt Red has today announced a five-month delay to the Cyberpunk 2077 release date. The game, which was due to release on the 16th of April, will now launch instead on the 17th of September. According to the studio, the game is in a “complete and playable” state. However, they have decided that they need more time for testing and polishing to ensure that the game is perfect.
CD Projekt Red Delays Cyberpunk 2077 Release Date by Five Months
“Cyberpunk 2077 won’t make the April release window and we’re moving the launch date to September 17, 2020,” announced CD Projekt Red, earlier today; “We are currently at a stage where the game is complete and playable, but there’s still work to be done. Night City is massive – full of stories, content and places to visit, but due to the sheer scale and complexity of it all, we need more time to finish playtesting, fixing and polishing. We want Cyberpunk 2077 to be our crowning achievement for this generation and postponing launch will give us the precious months we need to make the game perfect.”
This news is likely to be disappointing for many who were eagerly awaiting the April release date. After all, Cyberpunk 2077 was first announced seven years ago, on the 10th of January, 2013. Since then, hype has only grown for CD Projekt Red’s ambitious RPG; the game has won “Most Wanted Game” for the last two years in a row. However, while this delay may be disappointing, it will almost certainly prove to be a good decision.
Gamers should well remember the catastrophic launches of games like Fallout 76 and Battlefield 5, for example. (Both of which released bug-ridden and glitchy in late 2018.) There is ample evidence to show that fans prefer games to launch issue-free than meet an ironclad release date. Indeed, Total War: Three Kingdoms, which launched last year, also had a lengthy delay announced prior to its release. That game, thanks in part to the extra development time for fixes, tweaks, and improvements, proved to be one of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed games of its franchise. So, unfortunately, fans will have to wait five months longer than they expected. However, this delay should mean that Cyberpunk 2077 is even better when it does eventually release. Surely, that is for the best?