Cyberpunk 2077 designer says Phantom Liberty's success doesn't erase the game's disastrous launch

Cyberpunk 2077's redemption has been substantial. The 2023 Phantom Liberty expansion earned widespread acclaim, and the base game has recovered to become regarded as one of this generation's standout RPGs. Yet designer Pawel Sasko recently reminded players that success cannot rewrite history.

"I do not think Phantom Liberty erases the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and I would never want to tell our story that way," Sasko wrote in a Twitter post reflecting on three years of the expansion's development.

The base game's December 2020 launch was catastrophic. Widespread performance issues, bugs, and technical failures prompted refunds from major storefronts and a warning from Sony advising against purchasing the PS4 version on the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red responded with rapid patches, culminating in the substantial 1.5 "next-gen" update that marked a turning point.

The Netflix Edgerunners anime tie-in and subsequent Phantom Liberty expansion solidified the game's turnaround. Phantom Liberty has sold more than 15 million copies. Sasko reflected on what the expansion taught him about game direction, character development, and meaningful player choices, but emphasized that the journey remains marked by the scars of a difficult launch.