It is very clear that ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ has a long-term plan for ‘GTA Online’

Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably the strangest video game story of the year. “It’s a disaster” is actually a very clear bow to how things went, because it’s more complicated than that. Yes, the game performed so poorly on the latest generation consoles that it is now really inspiring lawsuits, and even in other versions, the amount of bugs present would make Bethesda blush.

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And yet, I can see how the worm is turning. After all the T poses and no flaws in the pants, I see a lot of people discussing the game itself, and many … genuinely like it very much. And in terms of being a “failure”? Well, even after the refunds, Cyberpunk 2077 has sold 13 million copies, making it one of the fastest selling games of all time, and I’m sure that number is about to increase after Christmas. AN financial failure, it is not, no matter what the CDPR stock price is doing because of the launch issues and its weak response.

But while it’s clear that CDPR will spend the next few months at least fixing what’s broken and unfinished about the game (with major patches already announced for January and February), I want to look ahead. No, not for the “free DLC” promised next year, which if it is the level of Witcher 3, should be relatively minor additions. And I don’t pay DLC later, which will be much more meaty, although if we ever see something on the Blood and Wine scale again, I would be surprised.

No, instead, I’m talking about the multiplayer announced by CDPR for Cyberpunk 2077, something they said would happen in Night City, but it would be a separate experience from the main campaign. And the more Cyberpunk 2077 I play, the more I understand exactly what they are doing.

It’s GTA Online. They are trying to make a GTA Online.

Of course, it is difficult to blame them. GTA Online is a money printing machine for Rockstar, and while it may be the reason GTA 6 never looks like it will arrive, it helped make GTA 5 the best-selling release of all time and the online component alone generated billions in revenue from their microtransactions.

Playing Cyberpunk, you can obviously see the structure in place. The expensive guns, clothes and cars are all there. There are barebones for racing, theft, murder and other activities in the style of GTA Online. Hell, even the photomode continues to produce photos that literally look like they were taken from GTA Online. The base is all set and really the only important thing to add is the inevitable PvP component, the difference being that Cyberpunk is all FPS, all the time, with no third party option.

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Believe me when I say this is the end of the game and when it arrives, it will be full of all sorts of new controversies based on CDPR, I’m sure. For example, why is GTA Online as profitable as it is? Unlimited microtransactions that permeate every inch of the game, and whale players that spend hundreds or even thousands to get everything at the highest level. “Shark Cards” are an endless point of debate for GTA Online, and whatever their counterpart in Cyberpunk Online, would undoubtedly make players question CDPR’s previously held position of not having intrusive microtransactions. Okay, I’m mentioning something that CDPR doesn’t even done yet, and even if the online mode is free, and the point is to make money, it’s hard to imagine a system that does not involve GTA Online-style microtransactions, at least to some extent. CDPR has already lost many reputation points among fans with Cyberpunk 2077 status at launch, so what is the other bridge to cross, if it is profitable enough?

As was the case with GTA Online, I am less interested in Cyberpunk Online than in some substantive player DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, something that GTA 5 never had. I believe CDPR will do both, but I am absolutely expecting a major boost to become the next GTA Online by 2022 at the latest. These launch issues will disappear, but this game will go through several stages and you can bet that Online is the final game.

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