Cyberpunk 2077 Devs Reveal Why The Game's Multiplayer Was Canceled
"Cyberpunk 2077" had one of the most rocky and disappointing releases in recent gaming history. Coming off the success of "The Witcher 3," fans had high hopes for CDPR's next game and it was certainly being hyped by the developer. When it launched, however, "Cyberpunk 2077" fell far short of expectations. The game proved to be riddled with bugs, the graphics were lackluster, and more than a few promised features had been left on the cutting room floor. Among these features was a multiplayer mode for the game.
While multiplayer had been planned for "Cyberpunk 2077," it was decided at some point during development that this feature would be added after the launch of the game. With this launch not going as planned, the upheaval left CDPR working to fix the game's single-player experience, and work on multiplayer was delayed. Now, the developers are finally confirming that multiplayer for the game is definitely canceled. They are also revealing the reason why. The reason, as it turns out, is not particularly surprising.
In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Cyberpunk 2077 Senior Quest Designer and Coordinator Phillip Weber stated that the studio's commitment to fixing the game forced it to make the difficult decision to scrap the plans for multiplayer. "The priority was that the main experience will run for the people in a really good state. And essentially, the switch of priorities meant that other R&D projects had to go away," Weber explained.
A poor launch forced a change in priorities
Despite this setback, CDPR is still interested in bringing multiplayer to its games in the future. Weber noted that, while plans for a "Cyberpunk 2077" multiplayer mode or standalone game have been scrapped, the developer is "focusing on bringing online into all of [its] franchises one day." With CDPR recently announcing a sequel to "Cyberpunk 2077" that no one saw coming, it seems that fans may get some multiplayer combat in Night City after all.
This commitment to branching out into multiplayer experiences, Weber was also eager to emphasize that, at its core, CDPR is still a single-player games developer. While it wants to make multiplayer a part of its games in the future, single player narratives still come first. The fact that multiplayer was dropped from "Cyberpunk 2077" while the developer is still planning on releasing single-player DLC in the future would seem to support this assertion.
The official cancelation of multiplayer will likely upset some fans. However, they may take solace in the fact that we may still see multiplayer in "Cyberpunk," along with other CDPR games, in the future. Despite a tough couple of years, the developer seems to be learning, improving its practices, and continues to be devoted to the sorts of games it's known for.