Behind the Rocky Release of ‘Cyberpunk 2077,’ a New Videogame Featuring Keanu Reeves

Video game developers

Project CD SA

CDR -7.08

ended his biggest title ever presented by Hollywood star Keanu Reeves when the Covida 19 pandemic hit Polish society earlier this year and plunged her into the difficulties of teleworking.

On Thursday, Cyberpunk 2077 will finally be released after three delays, which have fuelled both the expectations of fans and changed the calculations of the success of the project due to the higher cost of the project. The Warsaw-based company’s struggles reflect the problems associated with the remote management of creative teams, as well as the difficulties of a small player trying to create a blockbuster in a competitive and fast-growing video games market.

The project CD could be a great success. The company has only one other big gambling franchise, and all attention is focused on cyberpunk because it is the only original big name in the industry that will be marketed at this festive time of the year.

CD Projekt executives said the cost of production and marketing of cyberpunk was significantly higher than the $80 million or so the company spent on his last game Witch 3 : Hunting game, without details. They said they had first calculated how long it would take to complete cyberpunk, with the health crisis hitting hardest in the last four years of development after pre-sales work began around 2012.

Marcin Iwiński (left) and Adam Kiczyński – co-CEOS CD project, known for his series of witch games.

Photo:

RELAXATION CD

As employees go home, even small changes, such as changing the position of figures or objects in a scene, would take hours instead of minutes, they said.

Marcin Iwinsky,

who founded CD Projekt in the early nineties together with a school friend and is now one of the directors of the company.

Adam Kiczyński.

Less iterations and less daily communication, he said.

The CD project was also surprised at the launch this year of the new consoles with

Microsoft Corporation.

Sony Corp.

In total there are nine platforms on which it is possible to develop versions of Cyberpunk on these and older computers. Previously, the company developed games for three platforms simultaneously.

In September, CD Projekt reported on Twitter that it was a pity that some employees had to work a few weeks to complete the cyber bank. Crunch, a term used in the gaming industry to refer to excessive overtime to complete games or critical updates, has been a key word for over a decade.

It’s always painful when there are delays and we pay with our reputation, Mr. Chichinski said. We sincerely believe that once we deliver the game, people will understand and forgive us, because we buy time to deliver something incredible.

In Cyberpunk, players move like criminals through a futuristic city in search of a unique implant, which is the key to immortality. The game promises several hundred hours of entertainment, sounds in 18 languages and over 10 hours of original music. CD Project has also invested in artificial intelligence technology to create more advanced special effects for cyberpunk than previous games.

Video game production combines many of the creative functions of film production with complex coding and software development techniques. Because of the pandemic, the developers say that tasks ranging from testing games and bug fixes to recording original music and capturing movement take much longer. As a result, some games are introduced later than expected and some are more expensive than expected.

In April, Sony’s Naughty Dog studio accused Sony of a health crisis in its decision to postpone the launch of the post-apocalyptic thriller Last of Us, Part II. Independent developer Bungie said in July that he had postponed the update of the Destiny 2 shooter, partly because of the Covid-19. In August, Microsoft applied for the release of a new part of its Halo franchise with an arrowhead for next year, which focuses on work – obstacles at home.

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Activision Blizzard Inc,

Dozens of employees had the opportunity to simultaneously download a trial version of their annual Call of Duty shooter for 15 minutes at the company’s office in Santa Monica, California. But as soon as everyone went home in March, the process started taking up to four hours, until a faster solution was found more than a month later. This created a bottleneck, said Mark Gordon, co-head of Activision Blizzard Treyarch.

Players in Cyberpunk 2077 travel through a futuristic city in search of a unique implant that holds the key to immortality.

Photo:

RELAXATION CD

In the creation of Star Wars: Squadron.

Electronic Arts Inc.

was unable to bring together a group of more than 60 musicians to record the original music for a spaceship game released in October, according to Laura Miele, the company’s studio manager. Instead, she says, each tool was picked up individually and sewn by machining.

Becoming a big hit for cyberpunk is crucial for the CD project, according to industry analysts, because the company’s latest major release, The Witcher 3, is five years old. Analysts predict that cyberpunk, which sells for $60 in stores, will sell 18 to 25 million copies in the first month, contributing to the blockbusters of major publishers such as Grand Theft Auto maker.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.

and the producer of Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft Entertainment SA.

For the project’s CD to go from being a wonder to being a bankable, investor-appealing artist, cyberpunk must replicate and probably surpass Witchcraft’s critical and commercial success and longevity, analyst Jeffery Ken Rumph said of a Warsaw-based public company that closed Tuesday with a market capitalization of about $11 billion. It’s like the equivalent of a difficult second novel in a video game.

With the release of the PlayStation 5, Sony could have a hit in this festive season. Thus, the Japanese electronics giant created the popular game system that will be the jewel of the company. The picture is an illustration: Mary Pylaev/HVSW

A weak market introduction could be an important task for the whole sector lasting one year. The cost of video games and equipment has risen worldwide since March because people are looking for entertainment with a valid hosting order.

Cyberpunk, the only major original item to be released this holiday season, should help launch the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony, she said.

Jost Van Dryunen,

He is the former CEO of SuperData Research, now owned by Nielsen Holdings PLC, and an associate professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.

The CD project first announced in June 2019 that Cyberpunk would be launched next April, in a brilliant revelation the actor Mr. Reeves would appear at a Microsoft Xbox event As a result, the company announced a delay in January, June and October.

With the cyberpunk about to make its debut, the lords of Ivinsky and Kiczyński said that they hope it will be well received and that it will generate income for many years to come. In the near future, the company plans to launch a multiplayer online version of the game, which could help to increase the franchise’s share of revenues. The start date has not been announced.

Write to Sarah Eagleman at [email protected].