Cyberpunk 2077 Was Delayed Because CDPR Wants the Game to Hit 90+ on Metacritic

Cyberpunk 2077 recently got delayed again, and though it’s only a three week delay, the fact that this is the third time the game has been postponed has ruffled quite a few feathers, especially since it had already gone gold, and the developers had given multiple assurances that there would be no more delays.

CD Projekt RED, however, are adamant that they made the right choice, and have laid out their reasons for doing so. Speaking during a recent conference call, its developers said that they’re aiming for a 90+ Metacritic for Cyberpunk 2077, and ended up delaying the game to ensure that that happens.

“Regarding Metacritic expectations, […] we believe that the 21 day shift shouldn’t change anything,” said Adam Kicinski, CEO of CDPR. “It just moves sales and we really focus on the long-term perspective in terms of sales. This is secured by quality and nothing else matters, so – having better quality and a better initial reaction to the game always works in favor of sales; that’s why we are delaying.”

Michal Nowakowski, VP of Business Development, also chimed in, re-iterating that wanting to release a game that hits a 90+ score on Metacritic is one of the primary reasons for the recent delay.

“When it comes to Metacritic, we continuously aim at a 90+ game, so nothing has changed here; this remains the goal and, as Adam mentioned, this is actually the main reason for postponing the release,” said Nowakowski. “We want to give the game an extra polish; we’d rather be slightly ashamed right now in front of you than be ashamed in front of the players once the game releases.”

When CD Projekt RED delayed the game, they said in their announcement that they needed a little extra time to ensure that the game is optimized to run well on each of the 9 separate platforms it’s going to launch on. Recently, the developer said that while the game is running well on PC and next-gen consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One versions are still a work in progress.

Based on what’s being said, it seems like CD Projekt RED aren’t happy with how the game is currently running on curren-gen hardware, and are taking some additional time to ensure that those issues are ironed out before launch. Whether or not the game will end up scoring above 90 on Metacritic remains to be seen- industry analyst Michael Pachter seems to believe it will.

Cyberpunk 2077 is out on December 10 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia, with dedicated next-gen versions launching some time in 2020. It was recently confirmed that, following the delay, the game will no longer be eligible for The Game Awards 2020.

CD Projekt RED has been under fire of late due to reports of crunch at the studio, as it prepares for another push leading up to launch. Recently, for instance, reports emerged that some CDPR employees were clocking in 100-hour work weeks.