A CD Projekt Red presentation this morning has revealed that the PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X | S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 are launching today alongside version 1.5 of the game, with a free trial available on those platforms, plus assorted free DLC. It’s a nice surprise and yet another major gaming release in the already busy month of February, bringing long-awaited (and much needed) upgrades to the developer’s ambitious open-world RPG. The studio has been toiling away on major updates since Cyberpunk 2077 launched back in December 2020, but the PS5 and Xbox Series X | S versions feature the game’s most substantial changes for consoles.
These new-gen versions add “ray tracing features and 4K with dynamic scaling, faster loading times, and a variety of other visual and technical improvements,” and the PS5 version now offers support for adaptive triggers and haptic feedback with the PS5 DualSense controller. There are also the usual options to play in a Performance mode that offers 60 FPS with reduced graphical fidelity and a Ray Tracing mode with 30 FPS that offers the full visual experience. Meanwhile, among the updates and free DLC in the game are throwing knives that now return to you after a period of time, plus new apartments you can buy throughout Night City. The patch notes will give you the full rundown.
Cyberpunk 2077 will no doubt offer a much more stable experience for players on PS5 and Xbox Series X | S, but it took a long time to get here. CD Projekt Red faced historic criticism when its highly anticipated futuristic RPG launched with an onslaught of game-breaking bugs, various nuisances, and other broken features. While some PC and new-gen console owners found little to complain about, most players on the less-powerful PlayStation 4 and Xbox One found Cyberpunk 2077 nearly unplayable thanks to poor performance overall. The negative reception seemed to peak around a week after launch, when Sony opted to completely remove the title from its digital PlayStation Store, keeping it unpurchasable until June 2021.
Both the game and CD Projekt Red have been in dire straits since, but that didn’t stop the developer from doing its best to regain footing amid a tumultuous first year on the market. A game plan helped ease the tensions early on, as the studio began to make good on its promises to fix Cyberpunk 2077 throughout 2021. Though the shift meant multiplayer plans were reconsidered, we’re finally seeing the hard work pay off.
We here at The Escapist revisited Cyberpunk 2077 (again) last year to see how those updates are shaping up. Now, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X | S versions finally here, it might be time to head back to Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 once again.
