Cyberpunk 2077’s latest fixes may be too little, too late

We’re still talking about Cyberpunk 2077 eight months after its launch — but perhaps not for the right reasons. CD Projekt Red’s highly anticipated follow-up to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had a rough launch, particularly on consoles, delivering a buggy, compromised experience rather than a genre-defining hit. The Cyberpunk 2077 1.3 patch will address some of the game’s lingering issues, as well as add some free DLC. But while CD Projekt Red’s commitment to fixing its game is admirable, the window to make Cyberpunk 2077 happen may have already come and gone.

CD Projekt Red discussed the Cyberpunk 2077 1.3 patch during a Twitch livestream — which left fans feeling pretty apathetic. During the stream, the Cyberpunk devs highlighted their latest round of free DLC for the game. These include an alternate appearance for a non-player character, two new jackets for protagonist V and a hideous orange car called the Bandit. For fans who played through the game back when it debuted — bugs and all — it wasn’t much of a reason to come back.

The good news is that Patch 1.3 is live now, and does address a huge number of issues. It would take too long to detail every single patch change, but it basically makes the game more stable, better-looking and easier to play. These are all good changes, and CD Projekt Red deserve some credit for working hard to fix them so long after launch.

However, “so long after launch” is the operative phrase here. The conversation surrounding Cyberpunk has gone from “intense anticipation” to “general disappointment” to “mild outrage” to “radio silence.” People who really wanted to play through Cyberpunk have probably already done so; people who were on the fence probably don’t feel like it’s an urgent priority anymore.

That puts CD Projekt Red in an awkward position. If the company doesn’t do its best to address every last patch, fans will accuse it of charging $60 for an unfinished product. If the company does pour a ton of time and resources into making the game perfect, it may do so to diminishing returns.

Retail stores, at least, may not hold out much hope for Cyberpunk 2077’s rehabilitation. Yesterday, you could get the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game for only $10. While they’re now back up to $40, the $10 promotion was a stark contrast from the game’s $60 price on PC. Generally speaking, the console versions of Cyberpunk 2077 haven’t been up to snuff, and don’t receive fixes nearly as fast or as frequently as the PC version.

For the moment, CD Projekt Red is still committed to making Cyberpunk 2077 right. But there’s still a long way to go, and cosmetic DLC can carry only so much weight.