Cyberpunk 2077 is the next major release in line for CD Projekt RED. Following in the footsteps of their immensely popular open-world title The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077 will also embrace role-playing gameplay through a futuristic world inspired by the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2020. Very little is known beyond that. But new information on the game’s open-world setting has now been revealed indirectly, through a grant request from CD Projekt for their upcoming gameplay features.
According to a translation from Polish into English by the games journalism website GamePressure, CD Projekt RED is requesting a grant for a “City Creation” feature. This, as GamePressure reports, is “a complex technology for creating a huge living city, playable in real time, which (the technology) is based on rules, AI, and automation, as well as supports innovative processes and tools for making top-notch open-world games.” In other words, the City Creation function will allow CD Projekt RED to develop the foundation for sprawling open-worlds, a “living city” that players can experience as just another citizen. Interestingly, CD Projekt didn’t just file this grant for a specific title. It seems the team wants to implement City Creation into other open-world games, too.
The other feature, which CD Projekt calls “Seamless Multiplayer,” plans to be “a complex technology for making unique multiplayer gameplay mechanics, including the ability to search out for opponents, manage game session, replicate objects, as well as support for different game modes along with a unique set of dedicated tools.” Which means a core aspect of Cyberpunk 2077 will be combat with other players who can easily drop in and out of a given player’s world. While not exactly a new concept, it’s an interesting trend that seems to be simultaneously popping up among developers: Hideo Kojima, for instance, expressed similar interest in a new, unique kind of multiplayer experience for Death Stranding at Tokyo Game Show 2016 earlier this month.
It’s hard to say what else CD Projekt has in store right now. They hinted that they have a release date in mind for Cyberpunk 2077, but unlike Kojima’s cryptic hints regarding Death Stranding, no info has been revealed yet. Until then, at least there’s another piece into the puzzle of what Cyberpunk 2077 will eventually become.
