Cyberpunk 2077 first launched way back when in November of 2020. And if you remember the fallout from its fateful release back then, you'll know the game launched in a terrible state. The game didn't work, it didn't run well, and it was packed with bugs. Since its release, many patches have come to the game, and the game has changed a lot. In this article, we'll explain what's going on with Cyberpunk 2077 and its next-gen versions.
Cyberpunk 2077 Explained
When Cyberpunk 2077 launched in November 2020, it came to PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. Unfortunately, the game didn't really work on most platforms. On PC, the game ran the best, but that still meant endless glitches, performance problems, and a general underdelivering on features promised.
CDPROJEKTRED only showed off the PC version of the game before launch, and when the game actually came out, gamers found out why: the last-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 and Xbox One barely ran at all, though have been subsequently patched to work a lot better.
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While the technical state of the game, since launch, has improved massively, many are critical of promised or implied features they expected to launch with the game. Since release, many mods have come out for Cyberpunk that change the way the game is played, but in terms of official updates, changes to the game are largely balance-focused or technical.
The game's performance on Xbox One is still rough in spots, but on PS4 the experience is significantly better. However, these same versions are what gamers on PS5 or Xbox Series X are playing, because CDPROJEKTRED delayed the next-gen version of Cyberpunk.
This changes with the launch of patch 1.5 which includes the next-gen update for Cyberpunk. Now, gamers on PS5, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S have many more ways to play the game, and the patch also includes a ton of fixes and changes for all platforms.
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Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.5 Explained
Patch 1.5 for Cyberpunk 2077 is a big improvement that also includes support for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S consoles, adding in a bunch of new ways to play the game that take advantage of the new consoles' powerful hardware.
For next-gen consoles, there's support for ray-tracing, 4K rendering with dynamic scaling, faster load times, and a ton of visual improvements. Plus, for PS5 now there's support for the DualSense's adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and even the controller's speakers.
Whether you play on Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, if you're on a next-gen console, you can play Cyberpunk 2077 in performance mode or ray-tracing mode. Performance mode runs in 4K at 60fps, while the ray-tracing mode is limited to 30fps at 4K. On Xbox Series S, there's only one mode: a 1440p 30fps performance mode. Xbox Series S does not have ray-tracing support for Cyberpunk 2077.
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For all platforms, this is a meaty update, and it clocks in around 50GB. Coming alongside this update is a five-hour free trial of Cyberpunk 2077 live for PS5 and Xbox Series X / S. The game itself is pretty cheap as well, currently on sale for $25 on the PlayStation Store or $30 on Xbox.
There are tons of other changes in patch 1.5 beyond the next-gen updates. Perks have been rebalanced in general, NPC combat animations have been improved, and crowd behavior, in general, has been tweaked so citizens of Night City will react a little more to the chaos surrounding them.
Bikes have also been reworked to have glowing wheels you can enable alongside general tuning to vehicle handling to allow for better control, easier breaking, and overall more realistic handling.
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In general, the economy in Cyberpunk has also been rebalanced. Things are cheaper, cash is easier to obtain, and cars are less expensive. Some new weapons have also been added into the game alongside some new attachments.
Other changes include new appearance customization options for V as well as new places to rent as a home base rather than the default apartment for V. Plus, a bunch of new secrets additions are included in the new patch for players to discover. Unfortunately, these new secrets are not available on last-gen consoles.
What's Next For Cyberpunk 2077
With the launch of the next-gen update for Cyberpunk 2077 and with over a year's worth of fixes and updates, Cyberpunk 2077 isn't completely stable and done with development, but the most pressing technical issues and bugs present in the game at launch have largely been addressed.
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Major new features or gameplay mechanics haven't really been added to the game yet, but this will likely change as we learn more about DLC for Cyberpunk 2077. More and more of the team, according to CDPROJEKTRED, is transitioning from Cyberpunk 2077 support to work on DLC for Cyberpunk.
Not much is known about possible Cyberpunk multiplayer after the project's official cancellation in 2021, but many suspects that the multiplayer component to the game will come eventually, just after the game's DLC comes out and CDPROJEKTRED launches their next-gen Witcher 3 update.
The Witcher 3 update is still planned for release sometime in the second-quarter of 2022, and CDPROJEKTRED is hard at work on the update which is to include ray-tracing, upgraded textures, and a suite of graphical enhancements.
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The last major Cyberpunk update launched in September of 2021, and now in February 2022, 1.5 is out. The next Cyberpunk update is likely a ways off, and it's likely the wait between updates will be even longer as more of team works on DLC. However, smaller bug fix updates are likely to continue to release as appropriate.