CD Projekt expects Cyberpunk multiplayer to release after 2021

A Cyberpunk multiplayer game isn’t likely to arrive before 2022, CD Projekt has said.

The company held a conference call on Thursday to discuss the news that Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed from its previously planned April 2020 release to September.

During the call, board member and SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski provided the following update on Cyberpunk’s previously confirmed multiplayer component.

“In terms of multiplayer, one thing we need to make clear is that the triple-A release we’re working on in parallel with CP 2077 is Cyberpunk multiplayer, so that’s the first thing to say,” he said.

“And I think [president and joint-CEO] Adam [Kiciński] was alluding to this, things are going to be moving, so given the expected release of Cyberpunk 2077 in September, and frankly speaking the series of events which we expect to occur up to that date, 2021 appears unlikely as a release date for the Cyberpunk multiplayer.”

Developer CD Projekt Red spent a lengthy period researching Cyberpunk 2077’s post-launch multiplayer so that it was sure the mode would fit with the lore of the game.

That’s according to level designer Max Pears, who told VGC in September 2019 that the mode needed to “fit” with how the Warsaw-based studio designs games, suggesting that it could have strong ties with the game’s narrative.

He also said the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC strategy will be influenced by CD Projekt Red’s post-launch support for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which received two significant expansions promising an additional 30 hours of gameplay.

Announcing Cyberpunk 2077’s delay on Thursday, CD Projekt said: “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.”