Last week, CD PROJEKT RED revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 would be delayed until September because the developer needed more time to fix bugs and perform additional play-testing. The reason could be more complicated than that, however.
During a recent discussion, Polish insider Borys Niespielak claimed that the graphically intense RPG was actually pushed back because the Xbox One lacks the power to run the game as CD PROJEKT RED intended. The performance of Cyberpunk 2077 on Microsoft’s weaker console is “extremely unsatisfactory,” he said.
Fans are now (rightfully) worried about a potential downgrade in graphical quality. When The Witcher 3 launched, there was a huge controversy stemming from the game’s downgraded graphics, which the developers admitted to. Consoles were implicated in their reasoning.
“If the consoles are not involved there is no Witcher 3 as it is. We can lay it out that simply. We just cannot afford it, because consoles allow us to go higher in terms of the possible or achievable sales; have a higher budget for the game, and invest it all into developing this huge, gigantic world.”
We definitely have consoles to thank if Cyberpunk 2077 does end up losing some of its luster. But as CD PROJEKT RED explains, the game wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Sony and Microsoft’s revenue streams.