In a recent announcement by CD Projekt, the parent company of Cyberpunk 2077’s developers, fans of the title have received yet another stumbling block.
Despite Cyberpunk 2077’s release already being delayed, it has been announced that next-gen consoles will have to wait even longer for a next-gen version of the highly-anticipated game.
While the owners of next-gen consoles will still be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on the scheduled release date of 17th September 2020, they won’t be able to play an upgraded version of the game that makes the most of their console’s next-gen performance.
As quoted by VGC, an CD Projekt spokesperson has said, “when it comes to a proper, full-blown next-gen version, that’s going to come later, we haven’t announced when and I don’t have a new comment”.
Wait, was it happening?
Basically, there will be two versions of Cyberpunk 2077. One that launches on the current-gen PS4 and Xbox One consoles, and an enhanced version that will make the most of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
The news today is confirming that the enhanced version of Cyberpunk 2077 will NOT be available when the PS5 and Xbox Series X launch in the holiday season of 2020.
Players will have to wait, further into the next-gen consoles' lifecycle, to access the extra features of the Cyberpunk 2077 enhanced edition (or whatever this second version ends up being called).
Read more:Cyberpunk 2077 won't be delayed because of Coronavirus
Don't forget about Smart Delivery
CD Projekt Red, the game’s developer, previously confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 would take advantage of the Xbox Series X’s next-gen smart-delivery feature.
This means that Xbox gamers will be able to play the standard version of the game on Xbox One and port their progress easily onto the Xbox Series X when they upgrade hardware.
This will lead to situations where players are experiencing the normal, original edition of Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox Series X while they wait for the upgraded version to arrive.
It remains to be seen if the PS5 will have this function, with CD Projekt saying this: “There’s no official announcement coming from PlayStation so we really can’t confirm or deny anything. It’s PlayStation that first needs to address these issues and then we’re happy to make a comment, but we can’t jump the gun ahead of them.”
Read more: Confirmed next-gen games
What does this mean for gamers?
Whilst those excited for Cyberpunk 2077 will be disappointed about this revelation, the delayed release of the next-gen version should mean that the final product will be well optimised and not just a simple port from the Xbox One and PS4 copies.
Fans of the upcoming title will now have to sit tight in anticipation of the Cyberpunk 2077 release date for Xbox One, PS4, Windows PC and Google Stadia - it's happening on 17th September 2020.