Cyberpunk 2077 is set to be a game that’ll take over the gaming world for a long time to come. Releasing on the 10th of December, anticipation is sky-high and it looks like it’ll only get higher in the run-up to the game’s launch.
As with CD Projekt Red’s earlier game, The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 will be a primarily single-player focused game. But as we approach launch there are questions about whether or not Cyberpunk 2077 will include multiplayer in some form, such as an online co-op mode or deathmatch.
Whilst no definitive answers have been provided as of yet, there are some hints that speak of the shape of things to come in regards to Cyberpunk 2077 and multiplayer. Here’s everything we know.
When will Cyberpunk 2077 get multiplayer?
There are many questions about multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077, but one thing is certain – there will not be any multiplayer component included for launch. For the foreseeable future, CD Projekt Red’s focus will be on single-player content, until at least 2022.
Why 2022 you ask? The answer comes from an investor call all the way back in January of 2020. Then, publishing head Michael Nowakowski said that delays to the game had meant Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer had been pushed back to a point after 2021. The exact quote is: “2021 appears unlikely as a release date for the Cyberpunk multiplayer.”
So it appears that multiplayer isn’t off the table for Cyberpunk 2077, however, it will be a couple of years potentially before we see it make its way over into the game.
What will Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer be like?
From the same investor call we also got a small hint about what Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer will look like, when it does arrive post-2021. Michael Nowakowski mentioned that the multiplayer component will be a ‘triple-A release’.
This implies that this won’t be a simple add-on for the game, or a side mode that doesn’t offer much to prospective players. This seems to be saying that CD Projekt Red are intending to put clear time and effort into making multiplayer for Cyberpunk 2077 as expansive and feature-rich as the main game itself.
We know that CD Projekt Red have liaised and hired with Canadian developer Digital Scapes to help them introduce multiplayer into this dystopian future world. You may know this company from their work on Dying Light’s Be The Zombie mode, meaning they have a proven track record in adding multiplayer components to existing games. This also reiterates that CD Projekt Red, rather than treating multiplayer as disposable, are treating its eventual release as something serious.
So far, that’s all we know about Cyberpunk 2077 and multiplayer, but we’re sure that after launch we’ll start hearing more about its inclusion. What would you like to see in a multiplayer mode, would you like to see a tech-powered PvP deathmatch mode or something more co-op to deal with Night City’s gang problem? Head over to our Community Forum and have your say.
