Gamers all over the world have felt like children stuck in a perpetual Christmas Eve scenario for quite some time now. The wait for the release of Cyberpunk 2077 has been long, grueling, and, at times, difficult. But now the wait is over. CD Projekt Red, notorious for the attention to detail it puts into its games, has finally released its futuristic epic. This new offering will not only be a major cash cow for the company, but it could also be a big boost to the gaming industry in Poland as a whole.
The Long-Awaited Release
CDPR became one of the world’s most revered developers with its The Witcher trilogy, which culminated with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015. The game sold 28 million copies and is one of the best-selling console offerings of all time. It was also met with high critical acclaim and won a plethora of Game of the Year awards. Players were saddened that this would be the last outing of Geralt of Rivia, but they were also excited about CDPR’s follow up.
Cyberpunk 2077 was actually announced in 2012 and teased in 2013, way before the release of the Witcher 3. Much later, a gameplay trailer was shown at E3 2018. At the same time, the game was confirmed for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It was at this stage that players knew for sure that the game was really going ahead. Since then, it has been an agonizing wait for the release.
CDPR is known for its meticulousness in creating games, where everything has to undergo thorough testing before it can hit the general market. It would much rather keep delaying a release than put out an unfinished or glitch-ridden product. For this reason, the Polish developer kept pushing back the release date of their sci-fi offering.
Initially, Cyberpunk 2077 was scheduled for an April 2020 release. This was delayed three times, and eventually, the game hit the market in December 2020. It was a slight shame that the game was pushed back so far because it was unable to beat the release of the next generation of consoles. People who have already purchased the PlayStation 5, for example, will have to play the game on the PS4 initially. It will be ported to the next generation of consoles in 2021, and players who purchased it already will receive a free download.
Other Major Developers and Potential Future For Polish Studios
Poland is a great country for game developers to thrive in, and the market there arguably set CDPR up for success. There are quite a few other developers from the country that have been able to gain recognition on the world stage. Perhaps this is because Poland is known for creating great games, and publishers actually look to this market for new content.
Orbital Knight is one studio that has made games for markets all over the world. Its most notable creations include Candy Patrol and Slashy Knight. Another company to watch out for is 11 Bit Studios. The developer is famous for its 2014 release, This War of Mine, which was able to recoup its development costs in its opening weekend.
One area that may see more Polish developers cropping up in the future is the online casino industry. This is proving to be a popular offshoot of gaming in the country, with there being a vast number of online casinos in Poland in 2020. Indeed, to have a good idea about where to play, players turn to comparison sites that recommend bonuses. This site even provides information culture and history behind the Polish gambling scene. Still, there aren’t many famous Polish developers in this sector yet, but this could soon change as the popularity of this type of gaming is still rising.
Cyberpunk 2077 is easily one of the most anticipated games of all time. But it’s the effect that it could have on the Polish gaming industry as a whole that is most exciting. CDPR has opened up a world of possibilities for smaller studios in the country, who could aim to get their games onto consoles, mobile or online casinos in the future.
