Cyberpunk 2077 Does The Original Tabletop RPG Justice, Says Mike Pondsmith

Cyberpunk 2077 officially received a release date last month at E3 alongside the news that Keanu Reeves is featured in the highly anticipated title. Since then, the developers have been talking about the game at length, whether it is about the weapon customization that is present in the experience, or even the AI Uber service that will be available to players in case they need to get around Night City. That said, Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the original tabletop RPG that Cyberpunk 2077 is based on, recently discussed how the video game is doing the original title justice.

During a recent interview with VGC, Pondsmith touched on a number of topics, including how he believes CD Projekt Red has been the right team for the job from the start. "The reason is that from the start CDPR are fans: they play the [pen and paper] game," Pondsmith said. "Many of them grew up playing the game. So this is like a bunch of guys who watched the Star Wars movies as kids and then got a chance to make a Star Wars game: they would do the best damn job they could.

"That is why we went with them. This game has been optioned for years to many, many different studios. But what I saw in CD Projekt was that they really cared about it and the things that were important to us were important to them. So I knew it was in good hands.

"We have a unique take on the cyberpunk genre: it's a heroic kind of cyberpunk in this sort of dirty, gritty way, but you can still be the hero. That's unusual for the genre and a lot of the game companies who have been interested before saw maybe the Blade Runner-esque qualities, but they didn't see the weird, fun and dangerous, risky elements. It's hard to describe. It was the ethos of the 80s, that a lone person with a gun and an attitude could change the world."

Cyberpunk 2077 is set to arrive on April 16, 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. For even more on what's to come in the long awaited game:

"Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure story set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour and body modification. You play as V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. You can customize your character's cyberware, skillset and playstyle, and explore a vast city where the choices you make shape the story and the world around you."