Skip to main content

CD Projekt Red sets Cyberpunk 2077 aside to focus on The Witcher 3 next year

It’s been three years since Witcher developer CD Projekt Red announced its sci-fi roleplaying game, Cyberpunk 2077, and we still haven’t learned much about it beyond its broad strokes premise. And don’t hold your breath, either, because it might be a while yet.

The immensely successful launch of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has made the developer more optimistic about the prospects of Cyberpunk 2077, but has also ensured that The Witcher 3 will remain the studio’s primary focus for the immediate future. “We hope and we are certain that Cyberpunk has even bigger commercial potential,” CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kicinski told Reuters. “It is too early to talk about it, though. This year, and the next one will be the years of the Witcher.”

Recommended Videos

Cyperpunk 2077 will be a science fiction RPG set in a dystopian future where cybernetic enhancements have run rampant, destabilizing society. Thematically it’s very similar to the Deus Ex games, including the recently-announced Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The game’s name is an explicit nod to the setting it is adapting, which is Mike Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk 2020 pen-and-paper RPG that was first published in the late 80s.

Cyberpunk 2020 has never been adapted into a video game, but it was used as the original setting for Netrunner, a collectible card game created by Magic: The Gathering designer Richard Garfield in the late 90s and recently revived by Fantasy Flight Games as the exquisite Android: Netrunner. Pondsmith, impressed by the studio’s thorough and passionate grasp of the setting, is working closely with CD Projekt Red to help bring his vision to life.

Cyberpunk 2077 - Mike Pondsmith about Cyberpunk World

It also wears its other references on its sleeve, including Blade RunnerGhost in the Shell, and William Gibson’s genre-defining novel, Neuromancer, from which we get the word “cyberspace”.

The studio’s experience in building the massive Witcher 3 will no doubt prove useful in developing Cyberpunk 2077, which it has described as “a multi-thread, nonlinear story designed for mature players.” Unlike the Witcher games, in which the player must be Geralt of Rivia, Cyberpunk will allow for the deep character customization that is characteristic of its tabletop roleplaying roots.

Beyond that, there is scarce little to go on other than this cinematic teaser trailer, which looks especially Blade Runner (look at that flying police car and tell me you don’t expect to see Edward James Olmos come limping out):

Cyberpunk 2077 Teaser Trailer

We may have to wait a while for Cyberpunk 2077, but in the meantime CD Projekt Red will give us plenty to do with its planned expansions for The Witcher 3 (our review is coming early next week, but here’s a spoiler: It’s pretty fantastic). The third and final entry in Geralt of Rivia’s saga has been the studio’s most successful game to date, breaking into the mainstream in a way its games never have before.

Two major, paid expansions have been announced, adding over 30 hours of new story by early 2016. There will also continue to be a steady drip of small, free additions between now and when the first large DLC arrives in October.

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Cyberpunk 2077: How to start Phantom Liberty DLC
A pyramid from Cyberpunk 2077.

The rehabilitation of Cyberpunk 2077 finally culminates in both the release of the 2.0 update and the substantial DLC expansion called Phantom Liberty. Between these two, plus all the changes made in the years since launch, the once unstable and buggy game is finally living up to its potential. While everything up until this point has been free, including the 2.0 changes, Phantom Liberty is the first and only piece of paid content. Giving players an entirely new area in Dogtown to explore, plus a lengthy main story and tons of new side missions, it's the biggest reason to reinstall this ambitious title. But how exactly can you start the DLC since it is meant to slot into the story of the main game rather than take place before or after? We've hacked in and downloaded all the data you need on how to start the Phantom Liberty DLC.
How to start Phantom Liberty
There are actually a few different ways to get into Phantom Liberty depending on your preference and whether or not you've played the base game. The easiest way to get directly into it is through the main menu. With the DLC installed, you will have an option to jump directly into the expansion, even if you haven't played the main game yet. This sounds great for those who want to see the new stuff right away, but it isn't recommended if you haven't played the base game at all. You will be given a character automatically leveled up and placed at the proper point in the story for the DLC to take place with no context or tutorial on how to play. Note that picking this option doesn't lock you out of any of the base game content.

For new players who want to experience Phantom Liberty more naturally, you will need to play the opening hours of Cyberpunk 2077 until you complete the "Transmission" mission before the quest that starts the DLC will trigger.

Read more
God of War Ragnarok shares a key strength with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Hafgufa flies away in God of War Ragnarok.

God of War Ragnarok’s main story is memorable, but some of the smaller moments are what have stuck with me most since completing it. I'm not just talking about its moments of quiet, but its optional Favors as well. These sidequests can be entirely ignored, but skipping them is a mistake as they contain some of the game’s best scenes. It's a trait that God of War Ragnarok shares with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, one of the best RPGs of the last decade.
In some large RPGs, sidequests can often boil down to boring fetch quests, or they simply may not have as much polish put into their writing. As a result, they can feel like content bloat that does more harm than good to the game’s pacing. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and God of War Ragnarok avoid this problem by elevating these sidequests, making the entire adventure feel more cohesive and ensuring that the small moments stick out as some of the best.
More than a side thing
Like God of War Ragnarok, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a lengthy main story full of memorable characters, set pieces, and boss fights. While those alone would have made it a strong RPG, it’s remembered as an all-time great because of how rich its world is, something that's reflected in its side content. There were quests like Ghosts of Past, which pays off the character arc of Witcher 2 character Letho, but it's entirely possible to finish the game without ever seeing it.

Others, like Return to Crookback Bog, turn what could just be some fun supernatural fights into a chilling tale about abuse and broken families. While The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s main narrative is strong, these side moments are what make it a game that sticks with you years after release. I can already tell the same will be true of God of War Ragnarok, as some of my favorite missions in the game are entirely optional Favors.
An early game Favor called The Weight of Chains sees Kratos, Mimir, and Atreus freeing a giant Lyngbakr sea creature that Mimir imprisoned while working with Odin. They manage to break its chains, but find that it now struggles to move and do what it used to. This sidequest takes a series of somewhat standard combat encounters and puzzles and spins them into critical aspects of a memorable tale. The Weight of Chains reflects on how Kratos and Mimir’s reckless actions have had irreversible consequences, but they now have an opportunity to be better people in the future.
Another standout Favor called Secret of the Sands, where Kratos and Atreus free a trapped jellyfish-like creature called a Hafgufa, is also quite beautiful. The short story shows what Kratos will do to be able to spend more time with his son in the face of Ragnarok. However ordinary these sidequests may be from a gameplay standpoint, their narrative relevance and level of polish are on par with some of God of War Ragnarok’s main quests. This high effort even applies to some side missions that wholly exist with NPCs in the game’s overworld, ones that aren't even built around huge set pieces. For example, there’s The Lost Treasure quest.

Read more
The Witcher 3’s long-delayed current-gen update launches this December
Geralt fighting an enemy in The Witcher 3.

As promised, CD Projekt Red will release the current-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- Complete Edition this year, on December 14. This update will go live across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and is free to anyone who already owns the game on previous-gen.

The current-gen version of The Witcher 3 has been in the works for quite some time, suffering multiple delays since its initial announcement in 2021. Thankfully, the game's developer will make good on its promise to launch it in 2022.

Read more