Standing in rank with next year's most high-profile releases, Cyberpunk 2077 has set some serious expectations for itself. Developed by CD Projekt Red, the studio responsible for 2015's stellar The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the steampunk-inspired open world RPG has managed to attract considerable attention leading up to its release. With the help of a steady stream of information drops, screenshots, and an impressive E3 presentation, it seems 2019 can't come fast enough. That being said, the studio is careful to reveal only so much as to tantalize eager fans, and this new information is doing exactly that.

Speaking to Gaming Bolt, Cyberpunk 2077 level designer Miles Tost shared insights into various aspects of the game's narrative structure, including the way in which side quests relate to the main story. Specifically, Tost definitively states that side quests can affect the story's overall outcome.

"Side quests are great opportunities for us to tell stories of our cyberpunk world. After all, despite not being a part of the main questline, they are still connected to the world and can elaborate on certain parts of it, like the characters," he said. "So it's all interwoven. And yes, that also means that our side quests could affect the main story."

Although relatively rare, side quests affecting the result of the main story are not without precedent. In fact, CD Projekt Red's own The Witcher 3 featured a similar structure. That being said, it'll be interesting to discover to just what extent decisions made pursuing side quests will alter the course of the game.

In an earlier interview, Cyberpunk 2077 developer Patrick Mills compared Cyberpunk's quest structure to The Witcher 3's various expansions. He explained that the current "quest design philosophy," presumably being implemented into Cyberpunk 2077, originated during the time The Witcher 3's expansions were being developed.

Indeed, with The Witcher 3 being the studio's most recent major release and a juggernaut in its own right, it's only natural for those watching the studio's latest project to draw comparisons between the two. In response, CD Projekt RED’s lead cinematic animator Maciej Pietras pointed out one major distinction; that Cyberpunk 2077 would be a more "seamless" experience in regards to NPC interactions and the flow between action and narrative. For example, Pieteras specifically mentioned that NPCs would notice when the player turns to look at something.

Cyberpunk 2077 is expected to release in 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Gaming Bolt