We're all well aware of the controversy that embroiled Cyberpunk 2077 at launch - specifically related to its last-gen console versions - and now Valve boss Gabe Newell has given his thoughts on the fiasco.
Speaking to TVNZ, Newell expressed his sympathy for the developer, refusing to "throw stones":
"I have a lot of sympathy with a situation that every game developer finds themselves in... There are aspects of the game that are just brilliant, and it shows a tremendous amount of work — it's unfair to throw stones at any other developer, because just getting something as complex and ambitious as that out the door is pretty amazing."
Newell revealed that he has only played the PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 so far, so he isn't best placed to comment on the console issues, but nevertheless predicted CD Projekt will bounce back in time.
"People get mad because they care... When people have those kinds of reactions, my first thought is that this is an opportunity for us, and I assume that the Cyberpunk 2077 developers are similarly just using it to crank through and make improvements that are going to be beneficial to their customers.
They have a long history of doing a great job, of continuing to invest in their products over time and I suspect that they're going to be very good at making their customers happy over time."
What do you make of Gabe's comments on the Cyberpunk 2077 launch? Let us know below.
[source tvnz.co.nz]
Comments 7
Yeah I think I can echo a lot of what Newell said here
CP2077 had a really rough launch and arguably failed to deliver on what was advertised, but CDPR is not a malicious or scummy company and they ain't on that EA/Activision/Take Two level that a lot of people like to dramatize. Truth be told I thought CP was actually really solid. Was it the transcendant experience everyone hyped it up to be? Nah not at all, but it's one of the better open world games I've played in general since BotW imo
It really is the technical state that holds it back, but I do hope this game eventually gets polished up to the title they probably expected. I think making it a timed PC exclusive like Witcher 2 and Morrowind would've really helped to give the console versions, particularly the base PS4/Xbox One some actual polish
@TheFrenchiestFry The biggest problem with CP's launch isn't "technical problems' is that they flat out knowingly released a pre-Alpha build as a retail product. The incriminating part isn't just that they released it broken though. It's that they went out of their way to hide that until the zero hour. That's what made it so bad. If previews came out and said it ran like garbage, ok, fine, they released a broken game too early. But they went out of their way to hide it. That's what makes it so bad.
Those PS4 builds....which was their main market other than PC.....That's not technical problems, it's like selling "Rolexxx" watches in Battery Park.
IF their management were smart, they'd have blamed covid, launched prematurely on PC but delayed console further if they needed the money. Or they'd have cancelled PS4/X1 a year or two ago and said they're focusing on the new consoles. But instead, they did this, where apparently even the employees expected a 2022 release at best.
@NEStalgia None of the versions are the most polished thing out there, especially after the numerous delays, but it really came back to bite them in the ass when they decided to actively hide the console versions from the public eye. Not helping things is that demo they showed of the PS4 Pro build basically looks like it's running on a higher end PC and being sold as a console version identical to the PC version
I still don't think this means they're above fixing it though. Considering a good chunk of players are on PS4 as is they really need to turn things around. I still don't think the developers are entirely at fault. They don't advertise the game. It's just a classic case of extremely poor mismanagement and misplaced optimism. I honestly would've taken another delay to holiday 2021 if it meant getting the best product possible on ALL systems despite my firm stance on buying this game on PC
If you have a marketing deal with let's say Xbox for a limited edition Xbox one X to play your game... should your game not be playable on it? The management was shady, knew what they were doing and dragged their reputation through the mud. They had a skew of options in front of them that didn't include lie about this until the last minute and grab some cash for year end.
@TheFrenchiestFry If they weren’t a scummy company then they wouldn’t have buried the performance issues, essentially lied about the state of the game through their trailers and actively banned reviewers from warning potential customers. They took their payday and they deserve all that’s come their way.
The blame falls on CDPR management.
They knew that the console version needed 6 months more.
They should have just released the PC version in 2020 and delayed the console till 2021.
But alot of what they did on the console side was very deceptive and worthy of blame.
@GamerDad66 If what has been reported recently is true, the management issues are at all levels of management, all the way down to team leads.
Things like everyone having to create assets and shaders without having some sort of repository to share work is beyond amateur, from a team management point of view.
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