Second expansion after all?

+
While watching a YouTube vid about patch 2.2 this morning, I began to wonder, why bring in Virtuos Games just for a patch, or two?

CDPR aren't making any money from patch 2.2, but presumably Virtuos Games didn't provide their services for free. Since all future CDPR games are on Unreal Engine, it's not to introduce Virtuos staff to Red Engine for work on Witcher 4. So I can't help thinking that Virtuos are working on paid content for CP 2077. It would also give them something to sell alongside the new anime.

So, thoughts? Am I hoping too hard? Or do you think it's a real possibility?
 
Personally, I'd say you're hoping too hard.

For starters, while Virtuos certainly has many big project under their belts, it seems like they don't do full projects. Their business model seems entirely aimed at providing some extra hands for studios needing them. Secondly, investing in a few more patches to fix the game and maybe add a few more minor things is probably worth it for CDPR to keep the goodwill going with TW4 coming up soon-ish. Investing in a full fledged expansion though? Through a studio that, from what I can find with a quick glance, doesn't seem to have done any such work before to boot... probably not worth it.
 
While watching a YouTube vid about patch 2.2 this morning, I began to wonder, why bring in Virtuos Games just for a patch, or two?

CDPR aren't making any money from patch 2.2, but presumably Virtuos Games didn't provide their services for free. Since all future CDPR games are on Unreal Engine, it's not to introduce Virtuos staff to Red Engine for work on Witcher 4. So I can't help thinking that Virtuos are working on paid content for CP 2077. It would also give them something to sell alongside the new anime.

So, thoughts? Am I hoping too hard? Or do you think it's a real possibility?
My thoughts? I think 2.2 is a nice early Christmas present.

To show the playerbase their appreciation for their continued support, delivering extra (suggested) features, increasing popularity and enticement of the game and thus increasing and/or extending sales, and to thwap the biggest nonsensical rumor going around the world saying they "abandoned" Cyberpunk in favor of developing new ones.

Concerning a second expansion? Not likely. CDPR stated that they have no plans for one, and using this mod with which you can build in the game, you can quickly discern that Cyberpunk is "full". There simply ain't no more room to warrant a second expansion. Not even a little one.

But you can never know.
 
I probably am hoping too hard. But my inner accountant can't help but have a problem with subcontracting out work you're not going to charge for.
 
Why would anyone want an outside outfit to do an expansion anyway? With Phantom Liberty, CDPR found their groove and a way of working together internally that works. Like, really fucking works. They've talked and gushed about this very fact several times now.
 
Personally, I'd say you're hoping too hard.

For starters, while Virtuos certainly has many big project under their belts, it seems like they don't do full projects. Their business model seems entirely aimed at providing some extra hands for studios needing them. Secondly, investing in a few more patches to fix the game and maybe add a few more minor things is probably worth it for CDPR to keep the goodwill going with TW4 coming up soon-ish. Investing in a full fledged expansion though? Through a studio that, from what I can find with a quick glance, doesn't seem to have done any such work before to boot... probably not worth it.

Assuming Cyberpunk 2 takes a long time. I wouldn't be surprised to see a "next gen" update like Witcher 3 got.
 
Why would anyone want an outside outfit to do an expansion anyway? With Phantom Liberty, CDPR found their groove and a way of working together internally that works. Like, really fucking works. They've talked and gushed about this very fact several times now.

I remember an article about their life/work balance having improved tremendously ahead of the PL release. It's clearly reflected in PL's quality and good for them, crunch is a terrible industry practice. I don't recall anything I'd classify as "gushing" though. Was it really that much?

Assuming Cyberpunk 2 takes a long time. I wouldn't be surprised to see a "next gen" update like Witcher 3 got.

I would.

A "next gen" update isn't just flipping a switch. There is a lot of work that goes into this. Unless something goes terribly wrong with EPIC and UE5, by the time the next generation of consoles launches the REDengine will have been abandoned for years. It will effectively be defunct. The main reason TW3 got a next-gen update is because the work they had already put in to upgrade the engine for CP2077 could be used for TW3.

UE5 is a different engine, a next-gen update would require a lot of work on not just the game but the engine as a whole. Unless they keep updating and working on it through the entirety of their 15 years deal with EPIC, which would be EPICLY (PUN!) stupid since there would be little to no return on that work.

Hell, they don't even seem interested in investing the necessary work for a PS5 pro update and that console is already out.

I don't see a next-gen update happening even if Cyberpunk's sequel is still 5 years away.
 
CDPR aren't making any money from patch 2.2,
Actually that is their intention. it is marketing. Hire an outsourced dev to do a little work, release a trailer to make sure people remember the game exists, which they did a week or so ago. Add new content, players play it, player count goes up on marketing platforms like youtube, twitch or even steam, free advertising, those people who don't already own the game see "free" marketing, might thing "might as well grab it now" and CDPR get the dregs of last bit of cash from players who were not really thinking of buying it but wanted to buy a new game in the winter sales.

Coincidence because I myself actually often play this game around xmas seeing I am not christian, I avoid teh xmas crap at all opportunity and the vibe of the game is as unchristmas like as one could get.
 
I probably am hoping too hard. But my inner accountant can't help but have a problem with subcontracting out work you're not going to charge for.
It makes sense if you think of it as keeping a game selling for a decade, which is what happened with Witcher 3. Even with the move to simultaneous development of two games at once, CDPR are not an absolutely huge studio or publisher. So you need sales of the games to be sustained for as long as possible to keep cash coming in between releases.
 
I remember an article about their life/work balance having improved tremendously ahead of the PL release. It's clearly reflected in PL's quality and good for them, crunch is a terrible industry practice. I don't recall anything I'd classify as "gushing" though. Was it really that much?

Welp, I've just looked up "gushing" in the dictionary and apparently I've gone through life with the wrong connotation this whole time :p My life has been a lie D:
Lol anyway, my bad - what I meant was that they've spoken very enthusiastically - and sincerely - about how the switch to Agile was a major reason for why things went so well. I think "game-changer" is a phrase has popped up a fair bit.
 
Welp, I've just looked up "gushing" in the dictionary and apparently I've gone through life with the wrong connotation this whole time :p My life has been a lie D:

Now I'm curious about what other situations you may have erroneously used gushing to describe something that shouldn't.

So many great possibilities.
 
Creating a full fledged DLC is more than just hiring a bunch of programmers, you're talking about writers, designers, art direction, creative and narrative leads, OST, sound design. CDPR, despite the disaster of a release this game was, have at least with Phantom Liberty managed to keep their reputation of delivering a very high standard when it comes to DLC.

I don't imagine they would outsource all of the aspects I've mentioned as they're more integral to the image and reputation of the games than simply extra features and bug fixes and I image all the people working on those aspects are busy with other CDPR projects and aren't going to be able to sink a year of their time into a DLC of the standard set either.

Though I would be happy to be wrong, despite the condition the game released in and what I still consider to be shitty practices by the company, this is one of my favourite games I've ever played, I've probably played this more than The Witcher 3 and there's less content in this game compared to that.
 
Well we are getting a Mac version. But it seems unlikely they'd release an "ultimate edition" before all the DLCs are done being made.
 
Top Bottom