Why Cyberpunk 2077 is a much bigger deal than you might think

CD Projekt Red’s upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 is the Red Dead Redemption 2 of this year (or next, depending on when it finally drops), and that means there is more hype surrounding this game than perhaps any other title coming out for at least the next five years.

That’s to say that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a really, really big deal – and it’s not hard to see why, given the dev’s track record of churning awesome games. Not only awesome games, but “Game of the Year” material and “modern classics.”

The Witcher series is proof positive of this prowess, but Cyberpunk 2077 is way more important than many people might think at first glance.

Comparisons to Rockstar’s GTA and RDR model

See, Red Dead Redemption 2 game out in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto V, a game that has redefined success for a multiplayer online game. But GTA V started out life as a single-player game that morphed into an online juggernaut. It was expected that RDR 2’s online mode would follow that of GTA V: Little to no single-player downloadable content but a huge emphasis on stuff for online. After all, GTA V’s online mode has made the game the single most successful multimedia property of all time.

Who wouldn’t want to replicate that kind of success, even on a small scale?

Cyberpunk 2077 is not coming out with a huge online mode planned to sustain the game into the next decade and beyond. Instead, it is coming out in the shadow of The Witcher 3, one of the best if not the best single-player game of this console generation. It is expected to follow in these footsteps and carry the torch, so to speak, for single-player experiences.

Championing single-player gameplay

Remember how Bethesda said that they would be the champions of the single-player game, only to release Fallout 76 some months later? Cyberpunk 2077’s success – and especially in the long run – will do more for the single-player game than any promise or marketing hype.

Because, let’s face it, online games and drip-feed monetization is profitable. Amazingly so, depending on the genre you examine. With games like Apex Legends and Fortnite proving that a free-to-play model can print money for a publisher if it works out, single-player, contained games that cost a premium upfront, are competing with a new, and terrifying, beast.

Not everyone wants to play some online game, and most of us don’t want to hang out in a grey area that exists between the two.  The single-player genre definitely has its fans, but it is also under a lot of pressure with these news approaches to monetizing video games that are coming out these days.

Important for the entire gaming industry

That’s why Cyberpunk 2077 is so important for the industry beyond just being the next big, triple-A game.

A massive success can help show publishers that there is still a huge demand for quality titles that offer more isolated experiences than the games-as-a-service or constantly online games that are starting to dominate the headlines. We think that Cyberpunk 2077 is more than up to the task, but we just wonder whether it will be enough to keep back the tide of triple-A “freemium” games.