For more on
Cyberpunk 2077, a
report on Bloomberg has word on a rebellious atmosphere that's brewing at CD
PROJEKT RED following the rocky launch of their sci-fi RPG (thanks Kxmode).
Like gamers, the developers are frustrated by the state of the game upon
release. Here's a bit on what happened during an internal meeting between staff
and management:
During Cyberpunk 2077’s development, staff endured
multiple periods of extensive overtime including mandatory six-day weeks to
finish the game, Bloomberg has reported. When asked about this crunch time in
the Q&A, the directors said they had plans to improve production practices in
the future but didn’t elaborate, according to one person who was there.
One employee asked the board why it had said in January that the game was
“complete and playable” when that wasn’t true, to which the board answered that
it would take responsibility. Another developer asked whether CD Projekt’s
directors felt it was hypocritical to make a game about corporate exploitation
while expecting that their employees work overtime. The response was vague and
noncommital.
Many industry observers have wondered why Cyberpunk 2077, which was first
announced in 2012 and was delayed three times in 2020, still appears to be
unfinished. Several current and former staff who worked on Cyberpunk 2077 have
all said the same thing: The game’s deadlines, set by the board of directors,
were always unrealistic. It was clear to many of the developers that they needed
more time.