CD Projekt insists Cyberpunk 2077 release plans ‘haven’t changed’

CD Projekt is on track to hit Cyberpunk 2077’s September 2020 release date, the company said in a management board report released on Wednesday.

The company announced in January that the Cyberpunk 2077 release date had been delayed from this April to September 17, 2020.

In a new update on Wednesday, president Adam Kiciński said that despite switching to remote working three weeks ago, there have been no major disruptions and he is confident of hitting Cyberpunk’s September release.

UPDATE JUNE 18: The Cyberpunk 2077 release date has been delayed again, by two months to November 19, 2020.

ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES: “Since mid-March we have been working from home, while ensuring continuity of all our of operations,” Kiciński said.

“Our goals haven’t changed; first and foremost, we intend to release Cyberpunk 2077 in September. We feel motivated and have the necessary tools at our disposal to meet this goal.

“We also believe that our longstanding strategy of avoiding debt and accumulating cash reserves makes us well prepared to meet any hardships which may be in store during these troubled times,” he added.

Kiciński reiterated in a press release on Wednesday: “Our plans haven’t changed – we’re steaming towards the September release of Cyberpunk.”

Like many entertainment industries, video games have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In late March Xbox Game Studios delayed the Minecraft Dungeons and Wasteland 3 release dates, and more recently Sony delayed flagship PS4 exclusive The Last of Us Part 2 indefinitely due to logistical issues caused by the coronavirus.

Prior to the delays, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty said each of Microsoft‘s in-house development teams was facing its own unique challenges and constraints, while Sony had warned stakeholders there was a potential risk of first and third-party PlayStation games missing their planned release dates.

The outbreak has also led to the cancellation of almost every major video game event planned for the first half of the year, most notably E3 2020, the Game Developers Conference and SXSW.

In January, Kiciński said some crunch would be necessary to complete Cyberpunk 2077. Asked if the development team at CD Projekt Red would be “required to put in crunch hours”, he responded: “To some degree, yes – to be honest. We try to limit crunch as much as possible, but it is the final stage. We try to be reasonable in this regard, but yes. Unfortunately.”

CD Projekt will work on a new The Witcher game after Cyberpunk 2077 is completed, Kiciński said last month.