If things had gone to plan and Cyberpunk 2077 hadn’t had the bumpy launch that it did, CD Projekt RED would be focused entirely on its expansions right now, and the game’s native PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions would also probably be on track for release later this year. There’s no word yet on when the expansions will be coming, but CD Projekt RED has said that next-gen versions are still planned for late 2021. Even so, there’s a chance that that might not happen.
Speaking during CD Projekt’s latest H1 2021 fiscal results call (via VGC), SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski said that though the plan right now is to release the game for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S by the end of 2021, following the lessons the company has learned in recent months, it cannot guarantee that production schedules won’t change.
“The target is to release the next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 late this year,” Nowakowski said. “At the same time, keeping in mind the lessons we have learned during the past year and taking into account that this project still remains in development, we can’t say with full certainty that the production schedule will not change.”
By that same token, Nowakowski says that CD Projekt RED cannot guarantee a 2021 launch for The Witcher 3’s PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions either (though that is being handled largely by Saber Interactive, who also brought the game to the Nintendo Switch).
“With The Witcher 3, the situation is slightly different in the way that this is being tackled by the external team mainly, which is Saber Interactive, the company that we have worked with before on Switch and also with updates in the past,” Nowakowski said. “As with Cyberpunk 2077, our goal is to release that game still in late 2021. However, similarly, the development process is ongoing, and we cannot be absolutely dead certain that the release schedule will not change. But for the time being, we definitely are aiming with both titles for late 2021 and I don’t want to be more specific at this moment in time.”
Given how many delays we’ve seen for games over the last year and a half, it goes without saying that there’s pretty much nothing out there that is absolutely guaranteed to hit its intended launch date or window. CDPR itself has plenty of balls in the air already, including Cyberpunk 2077’s expansions and, of course, the ongoing effort of fixing the base game itself, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions do get delayed.
A recent rumour has also suggested that Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer project, which was cancelled earlier this year, might still be in the works. You can read more on that through here.