CD Projekt Red is at Gamescom 2018 with Cyberpunk 2077, showing a slightly altered version of the behind-closed-doors demo we saw at E3 to journalists. But perhaps the most striking new piece of news out of the event is that the game has reached a new development milestone: the entire game is playable from start to finish.
Speaking with Engadget after the conclusion of the demo, producer Richard Borzymowski explained:
“Cyberpunk 2077 has been in development for at least six years and its team recently hit a major milestone: The entire game is playable from start to finish. while it doesn’t have all of the proper assets, playtesting or bug fixes in place, but seeing the story come together is a critical step in the development process.”
The revelation is particularly interesting given that many —myself included— supposed the demo we’d seen at E3 was just a verticle slice, possibly explaining why it wasn’t yet showcased to the pub. Consider that when God of War was shown at E3 2016, it was six months before Sony Santa Monica declared the game was in a similar state to Cyberpunk 2077. It seems CD Projekt Red’s latest gamer might be much further along than we ever imagined.
Other key takeaways from the latest demo include Night City being shown under the night sky for the first time. Both the trailer and the demo we saw at E3 were shot during the day, in a break from the traditions of the genre —Cyberpunk is nearly always portrayed as perpetually in darkness, usually very damp, and highlighted by bright neon advertisement boards.
