CD Projekt Red Responds to “Games as a Service” Claims About Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red recently put to rest some worries about Cyberpunk 2077 moving towards a more “commercial” setup after concerns were raised regarding microtransactions and online elements.

The Polish developers that are well known for The Witcher series recently discussed what CEO Adam Kicinski referred to as “online elements” in an interview. While this could mean anything from a social hub to the less likely addition of a multiplayer component, other parts of the interview that supposedly contained buzzwords such as “commercial” and talks about keeping players engaged raised some eyebrows.

Pretty Good Gaming recently uploaded a video discussing the interview and said that CD Projekt Red was “considering ‘games as a service’” for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. In the video, they highlighted the concerning parts of the interview and discussed them while referencing CD Projekt Red’s other games like the standalone card game, Gwent, but the developers were quick to respond to the claim while comparing their newest game to The Witcher 3.

With their tweet, CD Projekt Red reminded everyone why they’ve quickly become one of the most gamer-friendly developers out there. Comparing any game’s elements to those found in The Witcher 3 is a fast track to success if the comparisons hold true, even more so when the games are from the same developer. The “honest gaming” claim should put prospective buyers at ease regarding any microtransaction concerns, and we even got a quip about leaving greed to other developers and publishers there at the end.

While the “online elements” part of the interview seems to be true, there was some disagreement about what CD Projekt Red meant in other parts of the discussion. According to some Polish viewers, it seems that parts of what Kicinski was saying was lost in translation. The “games as a service” phrase was supposedly meant for the Gwent game, not as a viable model for Cyberpunk 2077. Regardless, the direct response from CD Projekt Red should help put buyers’ minds at ease for whenever the title is eventually released.