Cyberpunk 2077 Dev On Emergent Gameplay And Whether Witcher 3 Downgrade Influenced Early Demo Reveal

CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 is a ways off – that is, if you ignore the recent rumours about it possibly releasing in 2019 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Though a lot has been made about the game’s optimization, it’s certainly interesting to see the developer showcase the much-discussed hour long gameplay demo. After all, it was meant for behind-closed-doors at E3 2018 and skipped Gamescom 2018 entirely.

We’ve already been told numerous times that it probably wouldn’t be the same game at launch – studio head/game director Adam Badowski outright said as much, even when the demo had so many clarifications already. So what motivated the reveal? Could the downgrade drama that struck The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have been a motivating factor?

Recently, we had a good, long chat about Cyberpunk 2077 with level designer Miles Tost. We asked him if there was every any apprehension in the studio about releasing the 50 minute footage to the public at large, in light of the mini-controversy that was kicked up regarding The Witcher 3’s alleged downgrades. According to Tost, that was never really much of a factor. He gave the following response: “The demo gameplay video was recorded from a work in progress version of the game and we were a bit uncertain if we should release it to the general public as we didn’t want to commit to any particular design. A lot can change between now and launch, but you can be certain that we’re not going to release a game we’re not happy with.” So from the sound of it, The Witcher 3’s controversy didn’t play any part in the reveal.

Regarding whether emergent gameplay mechanics would be seen in Cyberpunk 2077, Tost said that it’s “too early to really talk about this”.

“If it makes sense, and if we could pull it off in a way that feels organic and meets our quality standards, then maybe,” he said. “But we’re certainly not going to be artificially extending the playtime by pushing more content into the game. If it can add to our story-driven experience in a meaningful way, we’re not closed off to anything. Personally, I think our strength lies in creating handcrafted experiences.”

What are your thoughts on Cyberpunk 2077, especially at this stage of development? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for our full interview with Miles in the future.