Cyberpunk 2077 dev offers temporary beta branch so that Update 2.2 doesn’t make your mods explode

CD Projekt Red just released Cyberpunk 2077's cosmetic-focused Update 2.2, but for your sake, the developer is also offering a temporary retreat back to the old ways. Until the end of January, Cyberpunk players will be able to revert to a beta version of the action RPG so that 2.2 doesn't make their mods self-destruct.

"We're excited to deliver the newest Update 2.2 to you, and we hope you'll love it!" CD Projekt Red writes on Twitter. 

"However, we also know that you love playing Cyberpunk 2077 with mods," the developer continues, "which is why we decided to temporarily enable, until end of January, a Beta branch of the game on Steam, letting you revert to '2_13_old' while modders work on updating their content to the newest version of the game." Like Steam, GOG will also allow players to revert to past versions of Cyberpunk. 

Be aware, though, that both platforms fully support only Cyberpunk's most recently updated version, so CD Projekt instructs players to update their games before revisiting a previous version where they know they've run into bugs. 

"Only the latest version of the game is fully supported as it contains all the latest improvements, fixes and changes," the developer explains in its Twitter post.

But despite the mercurial nature of playing a beta branch of a game that has been fully released since 2020, players are grateful that their goth girl mods, etc. are safe for now.

"The rest of the gaming industry should be taking notes," says one popular reply to CD Projekt Red's post. "This is how it’s done." 

After Cyberpunk 2077's rocky launch, The Witcher 4 CEO acknowledges the biggest myth in gamedev is a lie: "There's no magic."