Cyberpunk 2077 could finally get that Xbox Series X and PS5 update

(Image credit: CD Projekt Blood-red)

Only over a year ago, Cyberpunk 2077 was released in a truly distressing land. The developer, CD Projekt Red, has since been working tirelessly to gear up the numerous bugs and last-gen functioning issues (with more success on the onetime than the latter), which means that those fortunate enough to bag an Xbox Series X or PS5 accept been left waiting for the true next-gen experience.

The original ambitious timeline published almost exactly a year ago by CD Projekt Cerise had the free next-gen update arriving in the second half of 2021, but past September the developer was already admitting this was up in the air.

Sure plenty, 2022 rolled around with no news on the next-gen update — but it looks similar there may finally be something to study on that front. In a press release confirming that said update would now go far in the first quarter of 2022, the company said that it would arrive "aslope another major update for all platforms."

And hawkeye-eyed Reddit users accept spotted that the SteamDB entry for the game has been updated for the first time since October. While that could be a modest patch ("fixed font in the credits," jokes ane user), the hope is that this is the first sign of the "major update" which, if the press release was accurate, should coincide with the true next-gen console experience.

Better belatedly than never?

The big question is whether anybody really cares at this betoken. Personally, I know a few people who tried playing it at launch and bounced off with the intention of coming dorsum later. Those people seem apathetic to the idea at present. The new-game sheen is gone, fifty-fifty with the possibility of a scrap of next-gen polish.

And while the game is, by all accounts, at present worth playing if you have the right hardware, CD Projekt Red may well be regretting its generous offering of a free update to the PS5 and Xbox Series X version for buyers of the terminal-gen game.

A lot of buyers sought refunds on Cyberpunk 2077 (Sony famously pulled the game from its digital store and still carries a operation warning now information technology's been restored), and anybody now buying the game for side by side-gen play will savour bargain-basement prices due to the initial backlash.

Expert news for gamers, but undoubtedly worse for the company's already disgruntled investors.

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing virtually tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are plant all over the spider web and in the occasional magazine too. When non weighing upward the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.