The first expansion coming in 2023 and "further support" througout 2022.

[northwold]

Not sure why people are thinking of a completely new protagonist. I'd honestly be pretty disappointed if they did that. I still feel like V's ending lacks resolution and payoff so I'm still hoping they'll deal with that. I hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment...

I think a new protagonist would be extremely unwise UNLESS their story somehow brought them to V at some point, matured and time having passed, which would be absolutely awesome. Players in the base game have invested in their V. If you want to wipe him off the map entirely then that really would best be left for a sequel.

Other people have commented that it would be difficult to bring all the endings to a common thread. Actually it looks very easy indeed and far easier than with Witcher 3's bad ending, including with Cyberpunk's short ending (although the latter is the one ending that already provides a narratively satisfying and complete arc). It's worth noting that Witcher 3 doesn't really have quite as distinct endings (apart from the bad one) as people often seem to remember, because the fundamental status of Geralt is exactly the same in all of them. It's the characters around him who differ.

 

[SpookyFX]

I think there is a confusion of the terms being used.

'DLC' is referring to the free downloadable content that will continue to become available via patches. They should continue to release that through 2022 and I imagine it will all be completed before the expansion. NG+ will likely be one of those free DLCs, though if The Witcher is anything to base it off of I believe it came out very close to when the first expansion was released.

The expansion is what will not come out until 2023. An expansion would be like what Hearts of Stone or Blood and Wine were to The Witcher 3... so large chunks of story added to the game that are likely 10+ hours worth of brand new content.

...and THEN they may or may not work on official mod tools thus not releasing said official tools for SEVERAL years (if ever).

 

[Spectral_Warrior]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1514646107434987532

I'm a bit disappointed to be honest. I thought maybe it'll come late Summer, but I guess not. I just hope 1.5 isn't the biggest patch drop we get this year.

So... let me get thi straight. Cyberpunk 2077 was at least 1 year too early with its release 2020/2021, needed at least 1 to 1,5 years to fix the game and get the PS5 "HD" version ready... And now you expect a 'full blown' expansion to arrive in less than half a year?

Seriously, I really wonder exactly how hard that windmill hit you people to continue to not learn (and CDPR are also taking risks if you ask me).
If anything, I'm glad it's no earlier than 2023 and again I rather wish they didn't say anything this soon compared to when they expect to release it.

[edit]: I seriously have a writing problem.. fixed the post so its understandable.

 

[Notserious80]

So... let me get thi straight. Cyberpunk 2077 was at least 1 year release 2020/2021, needed at least 1 to 1m5 years to fix the game and get the PS5 "HD" version ready... And nw yoy expect a 'full blown' expansion to arrive in less than half a year?

Seriously, I really wonder exactly how hard that windmill hit you people to continue to not learn (and CDPR are also taking risks if you ask me).
If anything, I'm glad it's no earlier than 2023 and again I rather wish they didn't say anything this soon compared to when they expect to release it.

According too there "work force allocation" they have been working on expansion since release so its kinda weird it should take 2+ years. Unless its huge ofc. Witcher 3 hade 2 expansions out in like 1 year, and those were pretty big ones.

https://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2022/04/2022-04-14-image-3-p_1100.webp

 

[lyin321]

According too there "work force allocation" they have been working on expansion since release so its kinda weird it should take 2+ years. Unless its huge ofc. Witcher 3 hade 2 expansions out in like 1 year, and those were pretty big ones.

https://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2022/04/2022-04-14-image-3-p_1100.webp

It is not so strange imo, as you want to fix the bugs that are already there (patch 1.5) and then add new content (and likely new bugs) to the mix...although I find it a strange decision to leave the XP for 23 and not a few months from now but...

 

[Luther_Vandrass]

I don’t understand why CDPR can’t give us at least some idea of what they mean by “support” of the game. Should we just be expecting some bug patches from here on out until the expansion drops, or are there gonna be minor additions/tweaks and more free DLCs?

 

[zqfmgb123]

Looks like they're reneging on their commitment to quality.

 

[exxxed]

So... let me get thi straight. Cyberpunk 2077 was at least 1 year release 2020/2021, needed at least 1 to 1m5 years to fix the game and get the PS5 "HD" version ready... And nw yoy expect a 'full blown' expansion to arrive in less than half a year?

Seriously, I really wonder exactly how hard that windmill hit you people to continue to not learn (and CDPR are also taking risks if you ask me).
If anything, I'm glad it's no earlier than 2023 and again I rather wish they didn't say anything this soon compared to when they expect to release it.

You also have to remember how many languages that are fully animated and acted need to be accounted for, the voice over in itself is a major undertaking, despite all the hurdles thrown their way in the past two years (major global pandemic affecting workflow and trade, major company hack, major restructuring, major system reworks, major engine refactors - potentially - etc.).

I just hope the fix the damned performance problems in 1.5 already so I can enjoy the freaking content that they released with it, I'm currently unwilling to play with the issues present with the UI and FPS drops.

But hey...

 

[pliskards]

According too there "work force allocation" they have been working on expansion since release so its kinda weird it should take 2+ years. Unless its huge ofc. Witcher 3 hade 2 expansions out in like 1 year, and those were pretty big ones.

https://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2022/04/2022-04-14-image-3-p_1100.webp

Does anyone know how many employees this represents, by the way? If it is like 1200 employees and that means 200-300 people are still working on Cyberpunk 2077 overall, then I don't think it is that concerning. If it represented like 700 employees and it means there are only like 75-125 people left on the game then it might be cause for concern in the sense that we might just get one expansion and they will move on. (Unless future expansions are included in 'Other Projects'.)

It will be interesting to see what happens. Now that CDPR is all in on UE5 it wouldn't shock me if they make one expansion, drop the game and just develop Witcher 4/Cyberpunk 2 at the same time so that everything is on the same engine, they can integrate multiplayer into both games, etc. From a business perspective that seems to make quite a bit of sense over churning out content for a game well past its release date that has already caused you a ton of headaches from a technical perspective.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for multiple DLC though.

 

[Andrew_Waples]

It appears they've updated the bar graph on the expansion, the light blue bar is much more massive compared to the orginal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LowSodiumCyberpunk/comments/u4dw6u
I can't get the updated bar graph on here unfortunately, but it is legit and it's up on their website as a pdf.

 

[pliskards]

It appears they've updated the bar graph on the expansion, the light blue bar is much more massive compared to the orginal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LowSodiumCyberpunk/comments/u4dw6u

Oh my.

 

[Andrew_Waples]

Oh my.

I can't tell if that is sarcasm...

 

[Razyen]

I can't tell if that is sarcasm...

Don't think so. The difference with the previous graphic is huge. This new one is kinda... comforting.

 

[N7_Nightwind]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1514646107434987532

I'm a bit disappointed to be honest. I thought maybe it'll come late Summer, but I guess not. I just hope 1.5 isn't the biggest patch drop we get this year.

I’m hoping they utilize the time to continue polishing the game further.

 

[Andrew_Waples]

This new one is kinda... comforting.

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[pliskards]

I can't tell if that is sarcasm...

It isn't.

It's like 4x the amount of people the original graphic showed or something like that. That is pretty staggering and shows they have like 50% of the studio or more on the project still. Takes me from thinking we were going to get 1-2 expansions to now thinking we could potentially get a whole lot more.

 

[mallmann1978]

Shame for anyone like me who was expecting at least an expansion for the first half of or around september/october 2022. The truth, as harsh as it is, must be told: Cyberpunk 2077 is being abandoned. Obviously the company is not going to do this abruptly. They won't confess. They don't because that would be a confession of failure and successive lies. The abandonment process is something that is already being done slowly as they release some DLCs still in 2022. Here for us: it's a long time to wait for new content. Again the company rips its schedule, lies to the players. It's sad. Cyberpunk 2077 could have been better than it is.

 

[Spectral_Warrior]

According too there "work force allocation" they have been working on expansion since release so its kinda weird it should take 2+ years. Unless its huge ofc. Witcher 3 hade 2 expansions out in like 1 year, and those were pretty big ones.

https://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2022/04/2022-04-14-image-3-p_1100.webp

Whatever the workforce size... I dont think I need to tell you what happens when you build a house without the proper foundations right?
Which is exactly what the game has been for the last year no doubt.

If I were to read back how many optimizations etc they have done, not to mention what I have come to read up on about the engine being like the russian research boat in VIRUS movie (I hope this reference lands)
In short: they might have had to do major redecorating under the hood.

My point(s) being, I really wonder how much work could actually be done to build that expansion on top of the game we have. Not to mention that we have no clue on what exactly may have been worked on at all? What is their workforce size even? Do they need to use external contacts or resources and are they availabe (imagine an actor who is currently oppucied shooting for another movie)
Not to mention all the rest of what happened during the past year, like @exxxed said, pandemic, scrutiny, lawsuits.. and f*ck knows what else.
And now they have a war going on next door.

etc etc etc, 6 months is short.
And I for one would not trust it one bit if they said it would be out halfway this year.


Personal note. this (and previous post) are a bit influenced by some external factors in my life, among which a big frustration. So if I come across as needing to shoot something, my apologies, it aint personal. But at this time I have a rather short fuse.

 

[pliskards]

Not to mention all the rest of what happened during the past year, like @exxxed said, pandemic, scrutiny, lawsuits.. and f*ck knows what else.
And now they have a war going on next door.

I think you missed the biggest one. A lot of people bring up how The Witcher 3 expansions came out very soon after the initial release of the game. Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely more of a mess from a technical standpoint than that game and to your point, there no doubt needed to be a delay because they were fixing the game.

But their workforce crunched hard for The Witcher 3 and expansions, at least that is the understanding. Just like they crunched for a long time to get Cyberpunk 2077 to where it was before launch... which is crazy. They have apparently stopped the crunch, which will likely slow development timelines as well. To make it simple let's say the typical person working on the game was being told to put in 60 hours a week, now they are down to your normal 40 hours a week... that would, in theory, make the game take 50% longer to complete, right?

I do not have a big opinion on crunch. But I do find it odd there are so many fans of games who freak out about companies having crunch... then at the same time get upset with the companies/devs when things take longer after crunch policies are removed.

 

[Garrison72]

Developers are still dealing with pandemic bullshit, people forget that too. Also, I wouldn't expect 'expansions' if CDPR has now repeatedly said 'expansion'.