For as much success as CD Projekt Red brought in initially, it's been a rough time for the developer in the last week. As the criticism of Cyberpunk 2077's problems on last-gen consoles continue to mount, CD Projekt Red has enacted damage control to try and salvage the game's release. While the game has a litany of glitches and oddities on the PC and PS5/Xbox Series X releases (which are technically the last-gen versions taking advantage of beefier hardware through backward compatibility), the base PS4/Xbox One versions have bugs on top of severe performance issues as well. These issues have even prompted Sony to take Cyberpunk 2077 off its online store, while coordinating with CD Projekt Red to bring the game back online when it's potentially fixed.
Despite all of the issues, CD Projekt Red has reiterated several times its dedication to improving the last-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077. Performance differences between the PS4/Xbox One and high-end PCs are night and day, even when factoring in the glitches and performance issues on PC. CD Projekt Red has received a ton of flak for the game's lacking performance on last-gen consoles, especially considering they still take up the majority of gaming households. As PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles continue to remain in short supply, it's only exacerbated the necessity to fix Cyberpunk 2077's issues, but fixes for all these issues aren't going to come in just a week's time.
Smoke and Mirrors About Cyberpunk 2077's PS4/Xbox One Versions
At first, it seemed like Cyberpunk 2077's launch was going to go off without a hitch. Most media outlets published reviews of the game ranging from positive to glowing, noting some glitches and oddities but nothing game-breaking. Reviewers were quick to point out that reviews were done on a build prior to the "Day Zero" patch, so many assumed any bugs or performance oddities would be cleaned up by the game's release. However, one particular review stipulation would serve as a warning sign for the ensuing controversy that would come: None of the media outlets received review copies for PS4/Xbox One, the platforms Cyberpunk 2077 was heavily marketed for.
Lo and behold, as the game finally released on last-gen consoles, that omittance from the review period was made for a reason. Whether it was a suffering framerate, slow texture streaming leading to muddy environments, lethargic loading speeds in and outside of gameplay, soft and hard-crashing consoles, there's seemingly no end to the amount of performance issues on Cyberpunk 2077's last-gen release. It doesn't help that CD Projekt Red intentionally marketed the game's definitive version on PC to set expectations for how all versions of the game would perform. Now, with Cyberpunk 2077 taken off some console digital stores, the presumably long wait for fixes begins.
The Severity of Issues Plaguing Cyberpunk 2077
As for how long that wait is going to be, well, it's not going to be a week's time. Games like Fallout or The Elder Scrolls are notorious for launching with low to medium-priority bugs and glitches, many of which are either patched out or circumvented with minimal player effort. That's no defense to bugs and performance issues in those games, but comparatively speaking it's far less severe compared to what's happening in Cyberpunk 2077. All versions of CD Projekt Red's latest retrowave-fueled RPG have several of these kinds of bugs, stacked on top of performance issues across all versions.
Compounding those bugs on top of the severe problems on last-gen consoles means it's going to be quite a while before meaningful patches fix Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red has provided a generic outline of when to expect updates, with the first preliminary patch reportedly coming on December 21. However, considering CD Projekt Red has already deemed it necessary to announce two additional large-scale patches coming in January and February, fixing Cyberpunk 2077 could take a lot longer than expected. This is without even considering any kind of compounded crunch on the development team causing another round of update/patch delays.
A Realistic Timeline of Updates for Cyberpunk 2077
Even if development on these patches goes smoothly, CD Projekt Red can only promise these updates "should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles," no guarantees. No shame to the developers who are undoubtedly working hard to improve Cyberpunk 2077's gameplay experience, but at bare-minimum, that means any sense of finality with fixes for the game won't be coming any time soon. Those January/February patch windows are pretty optimistic, and it's even harder to harbor any confidence that these patches won't get delayed even further out.
Considering CD Projekt Red's PR and marketing team was willing to omit details about the last-gen release state of Cyberpunk 2077, fans have demanded more transparency from the game's developer. And for good reason, as Cyberpunk 2077's abhorrent state of release on last-gen consoles has been unprecedentedly bad, even compared to similar controversial releases like Fallout 76 and Anthem. CD Projekt Red has a lot of burned bridges to try and mend, and it's going to take some time.
Cyberpunk 2077 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.