CD Projekt Red executive disputes Cyberpunk 2077 demo was “almost entirely bogus”



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Cyberpunk 2077 developer studio manager CD Projekt Red has disputed claims that an E3 demo for the game was tampered with.

Adam Badowski posted a preview of the game’s creation via Twitter following a detailed report from Bloomberg which, among other things, claimed the E3 2018 demo was “almost entirely bogus” according to anonymous members of the development team.

The site’s sources claimed that the underlying gaming systems had not been coded or even finalized as Cyberpunk 2077 was shown behind closed doors to the press and other industry professionals in June 2018. , which is why it included missing features in the end game.

The developers said it was “a waste of months that should have been spent building the game.”

Badowski tweeted a statement respond to three of the article’s claims, starting with the charge that the demos were rigged.

“It’s hard for a living room game demo not to be a vision or vertical cut test two years before the game’s release, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” he said.

“The games are not created in a linear fashion and only start to look like the final product a few months before launch. If you watch this demo now, it’s different yes, but that’s what the watermark” work is for. in progress “. the game is much better than this demo has ever been.”

He adds that “missing” features are “part of the creation process” with some being removed depending on whether they work well as part of the final product.

Badowski also took issue with Cyberpunk 2077’s launch being “disastrous,” as the article suggests, pointing to the critical success it has achieved on PC.

“As far as legacy consoles go, yes that’s another case, but we’ve recognized that and we’re working really hard to fix bugs (on PC too – we know that’s not a problem either. perfect version) and we’re proud of Cyberpunk 2077 as a game and artistic vision. “

Bloomberg notes that CD Projekt Red declined to comment on or participate in the feature prior to its publication.

Cyberpunk 2077 did indeed receive critical acclaim, but quickly faced a backlash after reports emerged that console versions were so plagued by technical glitches that it was said to be unplayable.

Complaints about the game even prompted Sony to remove the game from the PlayStation Store and Microsoft to offer a full refund. The studio is also facing a class action lawsuit for distorting the state of play to investors.

CD Projekt Red has said on several occasions that it is working on fixes, with two big fixes expected in the next few months, and co-founder Marcin Iwiński posted another video apology last week.

In the video, Iwiński claims that the tests did not show the big problems during development. Bloomberg reports that major bugs are still found when Cyberpunk went gold in October.

Engineers also apparently warned management that the game was too complex for Xbox One and PS4, in part due to the vision of a bustling sci-fi metropolis. But those warnings were dismissed, with management pointing out what has been achieved with Witcher 3 on Microsoft and Sony devices.

The pandemic has also played a role in the console edition’s woes; With the development team working remotely and testing the game on their home computers, they were unable to access the console development kits in the office and fully assess how it works on Xbox and PlayStation.

The Bloomberg article – built from interviews with more than 20 current and former CD Projekt employees – claims there were plenty of signs the game would struggle to reach a 2020 release.

Sources said development didn’t really start until late 2016 – despite the game’s announcement in 2012 – when the CDP “basically hit the reset button” and started changing many parts. fundamentals of the project.

When the company announced an April 16, 2020 release date at E3 2019, some team members felt it was too ambitious given the game’s progress at the time. 2022 was deemed more likely.

However, in his statement, Badowski claims that the sentiments of over 20 sources on this issue are not indicative of the full team of over 500 people.

There were also stories of language barriers, with CD Projekt requiring all meetings to be held in English after the Polish studio hired several expats from the United States and Western Europe.

Bloomberg claims this has not been consistently tracked, but Badowski disputes it again, adding that with 44 nationalities at the studio there will have been situations where people speak to each other in their native language when no one is around. else.

“Everyone here speaks English during meetings, all company-wide emails and announcements are in English – all that is required,” he wrote. “The rule of thumb is to switch to English when a person does not speak a given language in an informal conversation.”

Report author Jason Schreier noted on Twitter that Badowski does not directly address claims of an unrealistic timeline or “sharp crunch” in his statement.

In the article, former audio programmer Adrian Jakubiak claimed to have problems for up to 13 hours a day, five days a week.

There have been several crisis reports on Cyberpunk 2077. Co-CEO Adam Kiciński confirmed in January 2020 that staff members had already been forced to work overtime “to some extent”.

Then in September, it was reported that the studio was making overtime mandatory – despite previous claims of a “non-mandatory crunch policy” – in order to prepare the game for a November launch. The game slipped another three weeks to December 10.

Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed three times last year, but Bloomberg sources say management said delays were not an option until 2020. Despite the timeline seems unrealistic, the studio was keen to release before the launch of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 or even announced. it could “double” with new generation versions at a later date.

CD Projekt’s share price fell 30% during the month of December, in part due to the backlash, but Bloomberg reports that they rose 6% after Iwiński’s apology.

Despite the controversy, Cyberpunk 2077 has sold over 13 million copies worldwide in the first ten days



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