The delay of the new CD Projekt RED until September does not imply that the study will not take extra hours.
If id Software recognized that those responsible for Doom Eternal suffered long periods of crunch during the year 2019, CD Projekt RED has also openly admitted that the development of Cyberpunk 2077 has involved falling into these practices, which will not be mitigated by the delay. However, in an article published by Gamedaily.biz, the statements of the IGDA (International Game Developers Association), which has criticized the position of the Polish study, have been collected.
"A study as massively successful as CD Projekt Red should have the means to support prolonged development that reduces the crunch cycle," said Renee Gittins, executive director of the association. "Although they have previously mentioned that their crunch periods are not mandatory, the pressure to do so is strong simply by supporting long overtime." According to the association, this pressure increases when developers are asked to work "at night or on weekends."
Ensure the mental health of employees
Gittins recalls that the balance between life and work is crucial for the mental health of developers, so he believes that studies should take the well-being of their employees "when they choose a new release date." According to his words, "the players now realize more the pressure of the creators of video games and understand more the delay" of the products.
With regard to crunch, Adam Kicinski has commented that "to a certain degree" there will be. “We try to limit the crunch time as much as we can, but we are in the final phase. We try to be reasonable in that sense, although yes. Unfortunately, ”he wields.
Cyberpunk 2077 was scheduled for April 16, but the study revealed that they needed more time to perfect each of the sections of this expected science fiction title. If nothing changes, the new date has been set for September 17, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. At the moment there are no plans to move production to PS5 and Xbox Series X, the new generation consoles of Sony and Microsoft.
