I’ve been tuning into E3 for almost a decade, and it’s by far one of my favorite times of the year. Each year, gamers from all over the world either attend E3 or view live from home via Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, or other streaming platforms. I’m a gamer who likes to watch every conference, even if I don’t play or have an interest in a certain game because the excitement of the event itself is enough to draw me in. That said, the one thing I hope to see this year from E3 is a release date forCyberpunk 2077.
Back in May 2012, CD Projekt Red announced a new game titledCyberpunk 2077. Then in the following year,they dropped an early teaser trailerthat has reached over 14 million views since it was released (as of this writing). This is what started a 7-year journey of anticipation, hope, and many questions for the game, with the main one being “When are we getting a release date?”
[pullquote]“CD Projekt Red has already shown us what they can do, but I need to see more."[/pullquote]
First, let me say that I love CD Projekt Red for what they did withThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, even though it was my first game in the series and I had to catch up on the previousWitchergames via YouTube. I still appreciated the hard work that went into making these games.
I didn’t know aboutCyberpunk 2077until after I completedThe Witcher 3toward the end of 2015. When I finishedThe Witcher 3and immediately started Googling what their next game might be, I came acrossCyberpunk 2077and clicked on the link to the first trailer they ever released.
From there, I anticipated every E3 hoping and wishing for more information about this new game, and hoping that each year came with a release date. But, unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.
[pullquote]“I know you’re working hard CD Projekt Red, but where is the release date?"[/pullquote]
Cyberpunk2077began getting more attention every year that the developers went without giving much information. Last year during Microsoft’s E3 conference we all got to seea new gorgeous trailer(andan in-depth gameplay walkthrough), but again no release date was announced, and that left me a little sad. With not a lot of information about the game available, this left gamers (including myself) to talk amongst themselves about what their expectations are.
So far, we know that the gamewon’t be playable at E3 this year, butwe’ll still be able to see gameplay: beggars can’t be choosers, okay. Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the creative director ofThe Witcher 3,joined theCyberpunkteam back in March of this yearas design director. If you lovedThe Witcher 3as much as I did, flaws and all, then you can take this as a good sign. We also know that theCyberpunkteam has over 400 people working on the game, which is almost double the number of people that developedThe Witcher 3. Pause for shock
The main character you play as will be customizable, and you’ll be able to make them either male or female. You’ll also be able to let your character have romantic experiences, although it’s not clear on who or what you’re able to have a romantic experience with. This is a futuristic dystopian world, so that means the possibilities could be endless.
[pullquote]“Now I know we’re all ready to tell CD Projekt Red ‘just shut up and take my money,’ including myself."[/pullquote]
But that’s only possible if the developer announces a release date, along with a pre-order date. Let’s be realistic while at the same time being hopeful: we know that the aim for CD Projekt Red was either 2020 or 2021. While I would love for there to be a release date aimed for this year, the logical part of me knows that for a game as big asCyberpunk 2077, we might have to wait until next year (at the earliest) to actually play it.
Now that E3 is practically upon us, all we have to do now is wait and see how everything will unfold. Will CD Projekt Red give us what our hearts desire? Or will we again have to practice patience while the developer continues to finish up their masterpiece? When it comes to games, something I expect is a strong story, but I know I can put my faith in CD Projekt Red knowing they’ll do a great job, andCyberpunk 2077looks like it will deliver that and then some.
As we near E3, what do you want to see the most at this year’s show? What’s your dream scenario? Be sure to let us know in the comments.Lastly, be sure tocheck out some of the other hopes and dreams for E3 2019from the rest of theDualShockerswriters.
