Cyberpunk 2077 Director Talks Importance of Phantom Liberty's Quality at Release (Exclusive)

By Logan Moore

The launch of Cyberpunk 2077 back in 2020 is well-documented at this point. When the game first released across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms, it was in a messy state, to say the least. This rough launch for Cyberpunk 2077 ended up doing damage to CD Projekt not only at a financial level, but also with the company's reputation. Now, nearly three years later, CD Projekt Red is gearing up to release Phantom Liberty, which is the only expansion coming to Cyberpunk 2077. And while some fans might fear that this add-on may also arrive in a poor manner given what happened in the past, those within the studio are intent on not making the same mistakes. 

Speaking with ComicBook.com during Summer Game Fest, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty game director Gabriel Abatangelo talked about how CD Projekt Red is approaching the launch of the game's DLC. Abatangelo said that currently, the studio feels great about where Phantom Liberty is at and doesn't seem to believe that the expansion will have problems when it releases in the fall. Despite this optimism, those within CD Projekt Red know that it's vital to get things right immediately this time around. 

"Of course, it's super important," said Abatangelo. "You're playing it today. It's available on all the platforms and it's a very extensive demo. It's not a demo, it's the game. This is the game. And so we feel really great about where we're at with it. And we've introduced a bunch of different protocols within the development phase, testing internally, externally, all that stuff. There's so much nuance to development. I'm trying to think about how to explain it broadly. But yeah, we feel good. And it is obviously very important to not only us, but to the players. And so it's serious. We take it serious."

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As someone who played the version of Phantom Liberty that Abatangelo was referring to, I didn't find any problems with the current build of the expansion. This obviously isn't the finalized product that will be launching in the fall, but it still bodes well and indicates that there (hopefully) shouldn't be any major issues. Still, for those that were burned by picking up Cyberpunk 2077 on day one last time around, it would make sense if some fans are approaching this DLC with a bit of hesitancy. 

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will release later this year on September 26, 2023. Unlike the base game, Phantom Liberty will only be available on current-gen platforms which include PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. 

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