So my "open letter" reply to CDPR, everyone angry about the release change, everyone ok with it, everyone angry at the people that are angry, everyone that took off, everyone that thinks those people that took off are stupid, just... Everybody:
I've been on the hype train for this game since sometime in 2018. I knew it wasn't "coming soon" and that was ok. It was a game based on one of the best pen and paper games I've ever played. I loved the Witcher series. CDPR was a trusted and amazing dev that filled the void left behind by Bethesda and other devs that have betrayed their base and ripped off millions of hard earned dollars.
I've been in defense of every delay so far, including every one that has happened this year. Despite the fact that I took time off in March had to cancel/move it to Sep and now in Nov, I was in it and sticking up for them. Not bad mouthing anyone that was angry, just offering a reasonable counterpoint and good defense.
I purchased my copy and 2 more to gift to friends... on the GOG store. I have had such love for this company as THE company that loves their customers and employees and just gaming in general that I did everything in MY power to make sure every possible cent spent, went straight to CDPR. Sure you can say its not that big of a deal to do, but it was something extra that I and many others did, just to really get behind the cause and support who we thought was really there to do the right thing.
But now on the 3rd major delay this year... I'm done defending and I'm out of hype.
Am I cancelling my preorder? No. Do I kinda want to? Yeah. Do I kinda want to just pick it up at another store instead of giving that little extra to CDPR? Yep. Am I throwing a tantrum? Not at all. Am I reasonably upset? Absolutely. Have I lost a lot of faith in and started ranking CDPR down with the "standard devs" who care more about profit than games or gamers? 100%.
The way I see it, there are 2 major possibilities with this game right now that would cause the delay. A) Next gen is not ready (and possibly Stadia?) so they are delaying the whole release or B) every version is still buggy and screwed.
Now if its option A) there really is no excuse to not satisfy the bulk of your early adopters/supporters and just release the current gens or at the VERY least, PC. Hell you could even call it PC "early access" with a disclaimer that there are still some bug fixes needed and let the EXTREMELY helpful PC community give you feedback and support to find and resolve the problems to make your day 0 patch for the consoles even better.
If its option B) we are well and truly boned.
For CDPR:
Why? It seems like a vague, frustrated, generic question, but trust me, its appropriate. Why?
Why can't you seem to pin down a doable time frame? Sure its a "big complex game" but so was Witcher 3. You guys aren't some new, tiny indie dev. You are AAA. You are the big boys now. Have been for a while.
Why delay the whole release? Staggered releases on current vs next-gen has been a thing for at least 2 generations now. It's acceptable. Hell it's EXPECTED. Why are you willing to tank your customer faith across, conservatively estimated, 90% of your customers for next-gen playability?
Why can you not seem to communicate effectively in your own house? You have social media teams promising from a couple of weeks ago up to less than 20 hours before this news saying things to the effect of "No delays, CONFIRMED!". Is your internal communications really that bad?
Why can you not have a single, acceptable contingency beyond, welp, just push it back? Playable demos, early access opt in, limited launch, beta sign up, SOMETHING to help show the community you are working on it and PROVE the content you keep hyping.
Why must you continue to strain and stretch and beat and batter on the AMAZING reputation and customer relationship you have built with the fail promises and repeated delays? We have defended your choices, stuck up for the "perfect delayed game vs broken on time game" logic, rushed to your side over the crunch times and liked, subscribed, hashtagged, commented, tweeted and retweeted your content to keep the hype train chugging. We keep justifying the cut content and features left on the cutting room floor. We have done everything you asked to put the cash DIRECTLY in your hands to show how much we want to support you. Why can you not reciprocate that support in kind?
Now, for all "aggressive superfans":
Just fu$# right off. It is perfectly ok for people, that have already invested money in a pre-order, to be upset that there are delays. It's not "entitled". It's reasonable as a consumer to expect promises to be kept (especially ones made yesterday). I work in customer service for a major communications provider and if ANYONE at my company makes a promise, IN WRITING none the less, we are expected to find a way to honor it. And by and large, customers don't have a super happy go lucky attitude about it either. There is screaming, cursing, crying and not so borderline verbal abuse until they get what they were promised.
It would absolutely be "entitled" if I sat back and whined about delays when they were part of the expectation and I hadn't done any part to invest in the company's promises and set expectations. But that's not the case. We have already forked over cash money based on what has been communicated by the company selling the product. Expecting them to stand by that is entirely reasonable and the basis of free market, "payment for expected goods and services" economics.
For the people trashing on other for using vacation time from work:
Wow... just... wow. This one is insane. I'm not sure who can be SO full of themselves to think its ok to trash how other people want to spend their time off, but... well, you guys exist, I guess. I saw everything today from "what kind of loser takes off for a video game?" to the truly inane response that roughly equated to "nobody should be taking time off for a video game unless you make games." What... The.. Absolute... F%$# is wrong with you? If you are a gamer at all, it is more than likely you have been berated and degraded for your hobby at least once in your life. Why would you do that to anyone in your community? Hey if you want to take off for a concert, go for it. Trip to Bali, good for you. You want to stay home and find out how many ways you practice your "self pleasure" techniques, get it dude/dudette. Different strokes for different folks (yeah that was intentional). It is entirely reasonable to take time off for what you love.
I personally have had about 6 games over the past 2 decades that I was so hyped for, that I took off anywhere from 3 days to a full week and a half. Maybe 2 of them I had to reschedule once due to a delay. Not a single one have I had to move multiple times. It's frustrating and depending on your job, not even possible. There are some out there that now that it is scheduled within a month, its locked. Time off down the drain. And for a lot of others, it was a stretch to get time off in Nov. Dec? Forget about it. No way.
Just the fact that CP2077 was on my short list of games I'm wiling to take time off for was a mark of how behind the game and CDPR I was. The fact that I moved my vacation time TWICE already without complaint, shows the massive amount of faith and goodwill they had. But now... I am left asking myself, is it even worth it to try again?
For everyone angry at the delay:
I get it. I'm with you. It sucks. The company there to fill the void of the dev who is "In it for the games and gamers" has abused your trust and broken promise after promise. Missed dates, cut content, misinformation about "crunch times" and constant reports that the game is "complete and playable" when that obviously isn't the full truth... it hurts. If you are like me, you have backed the controversial decision to crunch, defended the delays to get a "perfect' game and helped them out with your good faith pre-order and contribution to the "hype train", online and off. And all you have gotten so far is pretty pictures, no substance apologies and platitudes.
If you cancel your pre-order, I understand. If you refuse to buy until "X time after launch", I feel you. If you are ready to swear off CDPR entirely, I can't be mad at you. I will request that you at least consider sticking around and holding a little cash back, just in case. Despite everything, sadly, CDPR is still near the top of the standard AAA game devs. Not sure if that says more about the pathetic state of the gaming industry or not, but its still true, IMHO. I can't honestly tout them as the "creme de la creme, above and beyond, by gamers for gamers, company without equal" anymore, but they are still probably the best we have.
Hopefully when/if the game ever launches, it will be every bit of what we all have been hyped for and redeem some of the good faith that has been lost. If not, well we will just have the throw CDPR on the Bethesda, Ubisoft, EA pile of trash and continue the search for the next "holy grail" studio to try to hype and support to prove that doing what is best for the gamers is truly what is best for the industry.