Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty lead says abandoning the RPG was never considered: "It was all culminating in 2.0"

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CD Projekt Red's devs were always building the path to update 2.0 with every major patch

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty V riding motorbike through night city
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk 2077's devs never considered abandoning the game despite its rocky launch in 2020.

Speaking to PC Gamer, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion director Gabe Amatangelo has revealed that shutting down the game's development was never possible. CD Projekt Red's developers were always building towards the huge update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty and never considered wrapping up development before they reached those milestones.

"Part of my conversation at the beginning with my boss and the board was: I believe in the team, I believe in this IP, but I want to do it right. And I'm going to need the support to do that. And they're like, yes, you have the support," Amatangelo recalls in the new interview.

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From its disastrous launch in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was improved upon with a slew of major updates. Update 1.5, for example, overhauled the in-game AI and driving, and update 1.6 added more quests and perks to unlock, as well as a wardrobe system whereby you could change your character's fit without changing their armor stats.

"The groundwork we laid in 1.5, 1.6 was all culminating in the plan in 2.0. It was mapped out. Loosely mapped out and it got more refined over time, but it was mapped out. You can see some of it with the slight AI improvements in 1.5—that was built upon to get to 2.0. The [thinking was] 'what are the gaps, and how do we fill those gaps to do the complete experience that hopefully everyone imagined and wants to play?'" the Phantom Liberty director continued.

Now, Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.0 is a massive improvement on the base game, with fully reworked police, improved AI once again, an entirely new UI, and even a new arcade shooter minigame. Like Phantom Liberty though, it's only available on new-gen consoles and PC, a decision that CD Projekt Red outlined a fair while ago.

CD Projekt Red's own devs have been pretty candid about Cyberpunk 2077's terrible launch, talking about how they "repeated a lot of mistakes" they got away with on The Witcher 3. The culmination of all this hard work, though, had us praising the state of the overhauled game in our Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty review. 

Check out our Cyberpunk 2077 Twitch drops guide for a look at how you can obtain some exclusive gear. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.