Last year saw the release of Cyberpunk 2077. The game was maybe one of the most hyped releases we’ve ever seen, and the launch itself became instantly infamous for its technical state, of which developer CD Projekt RED is in the process of trying to fix with various updates. Part of the anticipation of the title was that it was marketed and hyped basically for the entire console generation. It seems the developer is not looking to do a repeat on that one, however.
In a new video from CDPR called Strategy Update, SVP of Business Development Michał Nowakowski outlined their new philosophy going forward, especially after the launch of 2077 and all the issues around it. If you don’t recall, Cyberpunk 2077 was actually announced before the PS4 and Xbox One launched, and while the full marketing machine didn’t start until about 2 or so years ago, the game was marketed to some degree throughout that console generation before finally releasing at its tail end. According to Nowakowski, the plan now is to stay away from such extended marketing practices, and start marketing much closer to launch. He doesn’t get into specifics about what that means, even saying they could still release small teasers far from a game’s release, but they will be doing so much carefully than in the past.
“Going forward, our campaigns will be much shorter. We’ll wait until much closer to a game’s launch before we start showing things like trailers, demos, or going in-depth about mechanics, etc.
“And when campaigns do start, we aim to properly manage expectations across all platforms. This means focusing on communication of polished game footage, not concepts. We’ll also showcase footage of our games on all platforms they will be released on.”
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now, and while there has been no official announcement about their next game (most likely, it’ll be the next Witcher title), with this in mind, I wouldn’t expect it to be revealed for a good while.