CD Projekt Red recommends base PlayStation 4 users avoid the freshly reinstated Cyberpunk...

[Cal Jeffrey]

Recap: To say that CD Projekt Red's release of Cyberpunk 2077 was a fiasco might be something of an understatement. The studio was not honest about the project's condition on last-gen consoles. It hyped the game using PC demos, leading players to believe console versions to be in the same playable state. The much-delayed bug-ridden mess ended up leaving CDPR with egg on its face.

Last week Sony announced that it was reinstating Cyberpunk 2077 to the PlayStation Store after pulling it for several months while CD Projekt Red fixed its many game-breaking issues. In that time, the developer has pushed out two huge updates and several more minor hotfixes. As of Monday, the game is available once again on the PSN storefront.

However, the bad news is that those still wanting to run the game on a base model PlayStation 4 will likely encounter severe problems. In an early-morning tweet, CDPR explicitly stated that players could play Cyberpunk 2077 on "the PS4 Pro and PS5." The standard PlayStation 4 simply does not have enough processing power to run the game despite the patches.

Users may continue to experience some performance issues with the PS4 edition while we continue to improve stability across all platforms. The PS4 Pro and PS5 versions of the game will provide the best experience on PlayStation.

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) June 21, 2021

It is a truly unique situation because it marks the first time ever that a developer released a PlayStation 4 game exclusively intended for the PlayStation 4 Pro. Typically, studios code PS4 games to dynamically adjust to run efficiently depending on which console is running the game. Evidently, this was not possible for Cyberpunk 2077.

To be honest, CDPR probably should not have released a PlayStation 4 version at all. The overly ambitious game was truly intended for higher-performing PCs, and the studio's early demos were indicative of this fact. Releasing a shoddy PS4 version so close after the release of a new console generation was a mistake. The developer should have trashed the PS4 version and then focused solely on releasing it on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Had it done that, we'd likely be playing next-gen versions by now.

As it is, the PS5 and XBSX versions still do not have a release date. CD Projekt Red said they should be out in the second half of 2021, but with the greater focus on fixing the debacle, it would not be surprising if the studio delayed everything until next year. Fortunately, anyone who bought the game for PS4 or XB1 can upgrade to the next-gen version for free.

Image credit: Rokas Tenys

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90135-cd-projekt-red-recommends-base-playstation-4-users.html

 

[gigantor21]

Releasing it on last-gen consoles in this state is a blatant cash grab.

 

[m4a4]

Releasing it on last-gen consoles in this state is a blatant cash grab.

Depends, do they need to do so for proper updating for the Pro version? Maybe there's no mechanism to restrict non-pro PS4's from purchasing it?
Sony doesn't let you only target the pro version last I heard.

If it runs acceptably on the Pro, I don't think anyone actually expects them to cut off such a big market segment...

 

[Dimitriid]

I'm surprised this game was allowed back into the PS Store at all at this point: probably not going to be a good look for the on-going class against them and maybe even Sony will just drop future releases from CDPR given this fiasco.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

This game is absolutely a waste of time unless you buy it for a desktop computer with at least a core i7, a RTX 2080Ti and 32GB DDR4 with an SSD drive.

To release this game on a PS4 or Xbox One X was a bad joke.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

Depends, do they need to do so for proper updating for the Pro version? Maybe there's no mechanism to restrict non-pro PS4's from purchasing it?
Sony doesn't let you only target the pro version last I heard.

If it runs acceptably on the Pro, I don't think anyone actually expects them to cut off such a big market segment...

True. There is no mechanism for segregating PS4 Pro intended games from PS4 standard games. B ut it is unprecedented to release a PS4 game that only runs on the Pro. As I mentioned the common practice is to code the game to only use high-res assets and such when the game is running on the Pro. However, CP2077's issues went beyond just handling high-res textures. Too many other parts of the game required more horsepower, something the Pro could provide but the base can't.

At the end of the day, it would have been better for CDPR's rep to just release next-gen versions and forget bringing it to last-gen consoles. There's nothing wrong with that. It's the way it has worked with every other transition to a new generation in the past. This is the first time in my recollection that studios have expended so much effort in simultaneously releasing last- and next-gen versions of their games.

 

[Hardware Geek]

True. There is no mechanism for segregating PS4 Pro intended games from PS4 standard games. B ut it is unprecedented to release a PS4 game that only runs on the Pro. As I mentioned the common practice is to code the game to only use high-res assets and such when the game is running on the Pro. However, CP2077's issues went beyond just handling high-res textures. Too many other parts of the game required more horsepower, something the Pro could provide but the base can't.

At the end of the day, it would have been better for CDPR's rep to just release next-gen versions and forget bringing it to last-gen consoles. There's nothing wrong with that. It's the way it has worked with every other transition to a new generation in the past. This is the first time in my recollection that studios have expended so much effort in simultaneously releasing last- and next-gen versions of their games.

PS4 runs at 1.6 ghz vs pro 2.1 ghz the base ps4 just can't handle it.

 

[m4a4]

True. There is no mechanism for segregating PS4 Pro intended games from PS4 standard games. B ut it is unprecedented to release a PS4 game that only runs on the Pro. As I mentioned the common practice is to code the game to only use high-res assets and such when the game is running on the Pro. However, CP2077's issues went beyond just handling high-res textures. Too many other parts of the game required more horsepower, something the Pro could provide but the base can't.

At the end of the day, it would have been better for CDPR's rep to just release next-gen versions and forget bringing it to last-gen consoles. There's nothing wrong with that. It's the way it has worked with every other transition to a new generation in the past. This is the first time in my recollection that studios have expended so much effort in simultaneously releasing last- and next-gen versions of their games.

It is unprecedented, and I feel like they're now blacklisted (in the sense that their next games will be judged much harsher for review) by Sony and MS because of the situation.

And we all know why they pushed for last-gen, the id!ot(s) in charge saw the opportunity to do a Chri$tma$ release and ignored all the problems. And don't get me wrong, they should try to make money from their work (and I can't say how much money they had in the bank to postpone it again), but they clearly handled things horribly wrong.

I'm just glad that PC was relatively stable. And still wonder how they past the relatively strict testing for both Xbox and PS.

 

[hahahanoobs]

You can buy our product, but we don't recommend it... but it's still available for sale.

That's scummy.

 

[envirovore]

Releasing it on last-gen consoles in this state is a blatant cash grab.

Releasing it on any of the last gen consoles in any state was nothing more than a blatant cash grab.

This game is the shining example of what happens when you let shareholders determine how a game should be made and where it should be sold.

 

[rrwards]

You can buy our product, but we don't recommend it... but it's still available for sale.

That's scummy.

Agreed, that's absolutely scummy behavior from them. Don't make it available if you're admitting it's ****. We all know the average consumer isn't going to hear what CDProjekt said on Twitter and they're banking on that to keep selling it.

 

[Lounds]

P1sS poor programming.
The fact the Witcher 3 can run on the Switch proves that Cyber Punk could easily be downscaled to work on the PS4. The Devs just don't want to put the work in needed to downscale.

 

[gigantor21]

Depends, do they need to do so for proper updating for the Pro version? Maybe there's no mechanism to restrict non-pro PS4's from purchasing it?
Sony doesn't let you only target the pro version last I heard.

If it runs acceptably on the Pro, I don't think anyone actually expects them to cut off such a big market segment...

Oh, I'm not surprised that CDPR and Sony are rushing it back on the market for extra money. It's still scummy, though.

Releasing it on any of the last gen consoles in any state was nothing more than a blatant cash grab.

This game is the shining example of what happens when you let shareholders determine how a game should be made and where it should be sold.

And in the end, this debacle likely cost investors and the company far more money than another delay would have. Funny, that.

 

[envirovore]

P1sS poor programming.
The fact the Witcher 3 can run on the Switch proves that Cyber Punk could easily be downscaled to work on the PS4. The Devs just don't want to put the work in needed to downscale.

So what you're saying is that Saber should have done the PS4 port then, because CDPR didn't do the port for Witcher3 to Switch.

 

[envirovore]

And in the end, this debacle likely cost investors and the company far more money than another delay would have. Funny, that.

Sadly, IIRC, even after the payouts for refunds and everything they still turned a massive profit on this game.
Which to investors means it's a success.

If anything, I'd hope people would finally start getting it through their heads to stop pre-ordering games.

 

[Lounds]

So what you're saying is that Saber should have done the PS4 port then, because CDPR didn't do the port for Witcher3 to Switch.

I do know this information but yes.

 

[amghwk]

Sadly people forget that this game was developed with the tech generation when PS4 was reigning. CDPR didn't even have the PS5 blueprint to begin with. It's quite ignorant to claim that they "shouldn't have released for PS4".

As for the CDPR, it is indeed a botched, half-baked, insincere release. So much for the trust many blind fans put on. Sadly most of them refuse to eat their words, even when proven otherwise. Blind loyalty at it's best.

 

[Nobina]

They should've done the same when the game launched in a borderline unplayable state but not for PS4 but for everyone. By the same logic, they should've never offered CP2077 preorder.

 

[McMurdeR]

Sony doesn't let you only target the pro version last I heard.

Yes, I was under the impression there were pretty strict guidelines in relation to this. Surely CDPR have breeched these, in which case Sony is rowing back on its own rules by allowing the PS4 version back on the store. It seems bizzare that Sony would allow a PS4 title on its store that the publisher has pretty much admitted to abandoning on the base console.

 

[m4a4]

Yes, I was under the impression there were pretty strict guidelines in relation to this. Surely CDPR have breeched these, in which case Sony is rowing back on its own rules by allowing the PS4 version back on the store. It seems bizzare that Sony would allow a PS4 title on its store that the publisher has pretty much admitted to abandoning on the base console.

I'd imagine that they ran the numbers and saw that they would make enough money from it (considering PS5 is still in short supply).