You might’ve heard this story: Cyberpunk 2077 was a total mess at the start. With missing features and tons of bugs, many players felt let down by CD Projekt Red’s promises.
But it wasn’t just angry gamers online that the developers had to deal with. Game director Gabe Amatangelo shared at DICE that the chaos followed him into his personal life. Even his landlord was hassling him about fixing the game.
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According to Amatangelo, people treated him differently after Cyberpunk 2077 launched. He realized this when he needed his landlord to fix his shower, but got no response for weeks. When he finally confronted his landlord, he got a blunt response: “I bought Cyberpunk. I have a PlayStation 4.” He was then asked when the PlayStation port of Cyberpunk 2077 would be fixed.
In another situation, Amatangelo, a native English speaker residing in Poland, visited a local café where he usually conversed with a barrister in Polish. However, after the game’s launch, things changed.
“She never spoke English with me before, this was the first,” says Amatangelo. “She was like, ‘CD Projekt. What happened?'”
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During this time, Amatangelo notes a prevailing sense of “despair” within the studio. CD Projekt Red’s reputation hit rock bottom, not just due to online backlash but also from people they encountered in their daily lives.
Certainly, the gaming community’s outlook on Cyberpunk 2077, and thus CD Projekt Red, has notably shifted in recent years. Thanks to several patches, the game now aligns better with its initial promises, and crucially, its performance has improved to the extent that it’s back on the PlayStation Store shelves. Moreover, last year saw a complete overhaul of the combat mechanics and perk system, perfectly timed for the launch of the story expansion, Phantom Liberty. One can only hope that these efforts were sufficient to satisfy Amatangelo’s landlord.
Source: (GameDeveloper)
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