Cyberpunk 2077: We underestimated difficulties

The co-founder for Cyberpunk 2077's developer has released a new video explaining what went wrong with the game.

CD Projekt's Marcin Iwiński admitted they "underestimated the task" of adapting the game for consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One.

Gamers reported glitches including choppy frame rates and screen tearing.

Marcin says he's "deeply sorry for this and this video is me publicly owning up".

The game was arguably the most anticipated release of 2020 but the launch just before Christmas was a disaster.

The problems led to Sony and Microsoft removing the game from online stores and gamers were offered refunds.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a set in the fictional Night City - a dystopian future where pollution and crime are rampant and social inequality is the norm.

In the video, Marcin explains issues originated from Cyperpunk's "huge" scope, particularly the high number "of custom objects, interacting systems, and mechanics", making it a complex game.

As this was "condensed in one big city" rather than spread over a bigger space - it needed greater hardware capability.

So despite working well for high-end PCs, it couldn't be adjusted to older generation consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One, making in-game streaming difficult.

"We hit the ground running on PC. While not perfect, it's a version of Cyberpunk we're very proud of."

Marcin adds that testing did not "show a big part of the issues" that gamers experienced.

"As we got closer to the final release, we saw significant improvements each and every day."

He also blames the coronavirus pandemic for creating issues for CD Projekt as they tried to improve performance after launch.

"A lot of the dynamics we normally take for granted got lost over video calls or email. And we took that hit too."

Marcin added the "incredibly hard working and talented" development team should not be blamed for problems, saying the final decision came down to him and the board.

"Believe me, we never ever intended for anything like this to happen. I assure you that we will do our best to regain your trust".

As part of that, he says they intend to fix the problems and improve the game across platforms.

"Our ultimate goal is to fix the bugs and crashes," he says, with updates to the game expected to arrive in the coming days and weeks.

"We treat this entire situation very seriously and are working hard to make it right."

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