It’s no secret that I’m in love with Cyberpunk 2077. I’m closing in on nearly 200 hours of playtime, and that’s just one run. However, one thing that could make this experience even better is being able to play a multiplayer version with my wife.
While Cyberpunk 2077 was initially going to have a multiplayer component, it vanished like a fart in the wind. However, that hasn’t stopped me from fantasizing about what could have been. Plus, I also need to justify my obsession by getting her into this universe.
A story that needs to be experienced together
For me, the biggest draw to getting her into the world of Cyberpunk isn’t just spending time together but exploring a story together. Sure, we watch movies and shows together, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, and discuss everything mentioned afterward. However, being able to actively determine a compelling narrative together? That sounds amazing.
While I understand this could be done with one of us playing while the other watches, this creates a disconnect, however slight, with the person not playing. I want her to see and feel Night City as I have. I want her to stumble across side missions and characters, build relationships, and take on the mighty corporations. I want her to come to her own conclusions about mysteries like the Peralez family or who Mr. Blue Eyes could be.
It’s akin to showing someone your favorite movie. This time, though, they’re taking a starring role. By taking a page from the TTRPG, I could drop in as a random merc and back my lady’s V as she works her way up from Watson to the top of Arasaka Tower. Ultimately, it’s her story. I just want to be there, taking down cyberpsychos along the way as she navigates the various dilemmas this world has to offer.
Opening up a new genre of games to others
Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t one of those games that my wife would normally play. She’s into your 2D platformers like Super Mario Wonder and relaxed retreats like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As such, sitting her down in front of the TV and hoping for the best with Cyberpunk, which is a serious investment, might not yield the best returns for her.
However, if I could take her hand akin to playing through the various Halo campaigns, I could almost guarantee she’d see the same appeal for Night City and its inhabitants that I do. There’s just something about losing yourself in another world with your best friend that isn’t quite like anything else.
As such, with me acting as backup, I can help smooth out any speedbumps she might encounter. Not a fan of combat? Sit back while I clear these Maelstrom out. Don’t like dealing with quickhacks or minigames? Cover my six while I get my Neo on. Disgusted by the way Brigitte is talking to you? I will quickhack the hell out of her so you can plant a boot through her chest.
Much like playing the Nabbit in Super Mario Wonder can make me less of a deadweight in her games, I want to be able to introduce her to things outside her wheelhouse without making the learning curve too steep. By being the Sam to her Frodo, we can play through one of gaming’s most engrossing stories.
Whatever happened to Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer?
Leading up to Cyberpunk 2077‘s release, developer CD Projekt Red was hyping up a multiplayer mode. In March 2013, CDPR’s Chief Creative Officer, Adam Badowski, said in an interview, “It [Cyberpunk 2077] will be a story-based RPG experience with amazing single-player playthroughs, but we’re going to add multiplayer features.”
As development progressed, the CDPR Twitter account made a post linked to their careers page in regards to the multiplayer mode that was “in the works.” It appears the initial plan was to release the single-player mode in April 2020, followed by additional content and then release the multiplayer portion once that was done.
However, as the initial and subsequent release dates came and went due to delays, many not only worried about the single-player component but also the multiplayer version, which was indicated to have been a standalone game.
Following the first delay from April 16, 2020, to September 17, 2020, CDPR was asked by an investor during a Q&A session if they should expect the multiplayer component in 2021. Chief Commerical Officer Micał Nowakowski responded, “Given the expected release of Cyberpunk 2077 in September, and frankly speaking of the series of events we expect to occur after that date, 2021 appears unlikely as a release date for the Cyberpunk multiplayer.”
In another investor call (translated by Seeking Alpha) in November 2020, Chief Executive Officer Adam Kiciński fielded a question regarding multiplayer coming in 2022. “Regarding multiplayer, we haven’t announced any date so far, and actually, right now, it’s not the… I mean, it’s not the moment to talk about any business model for multiplayer, even though we had discussing before, but to avoid any fast in our gaming community, we… I will skip it because we’ll share our thoughts about next year once we update our strategy. It will happen in Q1 next year, and that will be after releasing Cyberpunk and that will be the right moment to discuss deeper or all key aspects around future releases. (sic)”
In March 2021, the CD Projekt IR YouTube account posted a strategy update that included information regarding the state of the “online elements.” Essentially, the developer planned to release updates and free DLCs in 2021, a Next Gen release and free Next Gen update in H2 2021, further expansions, and finally, the addition of the aforementioned online elements. It appears that the developer’s plan was to build a solid foundation in their games using the REDengine and then develop an online component that could be integrated into existing games.
The developer remained quiet regarding multiplayer for over a year as it worked to undo the damage that was the arguably catastrophic launch of Cyberpunk 2077. In an interview with Eurogamer, former Senior Quest Designer and Coordinator Philipp Weber said, “The priority was that the main experience will run for the people in a really good state, and essentially, the switch of priorities meant that other R&D projects had to go away. With Cyberpunk, we wanted to do many things at the same time, and we just needed to really focus and say, ‘Okay, what’s the important part? Yeah, we will make that part really good.'”
At this point, it would appear that any hopes or chances of Cyberpunk 2077 getting a multiplayer component or standalone release are dead in the water. It took CDPR nearly three years to push out Update 2.0, which abandoned the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which was released on September 21, 2023. This is two full years after the initial timeline.
Since then, the Phantom Liberty DLC was released on September 26, 2023. CDPR continues to push out updates in support, but there don’t appear to be any official plans to expand further on Cyberpunk 2077 as it stands.
Holding out hope for Cyberpunk multiplayer
On October 4, 2022, the CDPR Twitter account made a post stating that Orion is a codename for the next Cyberpunk title. This was followed up with a tweet by Quest Director Paweł Sasko, stating that he would be moving the core team to Boston and working with developers from both the Vancouver and Warsaw branches on the next title.
Since then, the CD Projekt IR YouTube account has posted another investor call on October 5, 2023, wherein Adam Badowski said that the sequel was still in the “conceptual design” stage. This means that it is likely going to be years until we get further information on the title, as hopefully, CD Projekt Red has learned its lesson about abusing the hype train.
Will we see multiplayer in whatever Orion turns out to be? There’s no way to know, and it’s best to be skeptical about what CDPR says until the game is actually out. In the meantime, I can only drop subtle hints that my darling wife should install some cyberware and show some Animals the business end of her smart pistol.
