If you want the game for free, just buy it on GOG, download the offline installer, then refund the game. There, game for free.

Now, if you also got a Steam key, you could buy on GOG, download the installer, sell the Steam key, then refund the game. That's perhaps asking the CDPR guys to be a bit too generous, isn't it?

I think the delay has to deal with the new Xbox and Playstation consoles and November 19th is days away from Black Friday/Thanksgiving sales. Why wouldn't CDPR want to sell a new game and make extra sales during the Xmas season?

November 19th is a week away from Black Friday... I wonder if GOG will CP2077 on sale?

I cannot imagine they will want to sell the game on a discount days after first release. What would it accomplish, other than losing them revenue? And it will essentially be an a massive middle finger to every single person who bought the game on day one, including those people who bought the game waaaay back when they first put it on sale.

"Hey guys, thank you so much for supporting us by bying early, but now we're going to give a big discount to everybody who didn't. They'll get exactly what you get, except way cheaper! LOL!"

No, I don't think they'll do that.

And for reasons stated previously, I doubt the delay has anything to do with the new consoles directly. If they wanted to hit those, they probably wouldn't have announced a fixed date in september, back when they delayed the April release date. Going back on an announced release date is not something you just do for fun.

CDPR announced via Twitter that the games will have free upgrades to the new systems.

"We are happy to confirm that Cyberpunk 2077 will be backwards compatible with both next-gen consoles! Your PS4 copy of the game will work on PS5 on launch day. Anyone who buys the game on Xbox One will be able to play their copy on Xbox Series X when the console launches too!

A later upgrade to Cyberpunk 2077, taking full advantage of the next-gen hardware, will be available for free."

Rumor has it the new Playstation is supposed to launch on November 20th so we shall see and I'm sure they would want the game as a holiday release to make additional sales. But this is only my opinion...

Seeing Tlou2 is in dumpster fire right now, I sincerely hope CP2077 do not go down the same path

it probably has more to do with baseline compatibility than the "full PS5 optimised" version. Not only is CP77 being made for current gen consoles and PC specs, but it also has to work on the XSX, PS5, Nvidia Ampere, Nvidia GeForce Now, 4th Gen AMD, and Stadia--all essentially debuting this Fall (Stadia barely being 6 months old by the Fall, right?). And let's not forget the almost infinite combinations of PC parts which pose wild inter-compatibility challenges. All while being developed and QA'd remotely because there's a plague outside being handled with varying degrees of severity.

I know everyone's on edge but...no one considers all these tech compatibility issues might be...a lot? And they really do just need a little more time to make sure their product just works on ALL these machines?

...or that maybe the developers and QA testers are human people who also think this delay sucks and want this title to be finished with the utmost quality too?

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i would say more like "generation creep," but basically yes. "systems" as hardware. it has to be dizzying, overwhelming.

not to mention the plague too. that's still a thing y'all.

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Oh, I agree that there are issues to handle, but I suspect they've got the worst compatibility details under control. I don't have any experience in that particular aspect of development, but I suspect that if they're only beginning to deal with those kinds of issues now then the whole project is in really bad shape.

But the reason for my comment was the current narrative that CDPR are delaying despite having a release-worthy game because they think they can sell more by releasing closer to the launch of PS5. And I don't really get the reasoning behind that narrative, particularly not if CDPR don't have a PS5 optimized version ready at the launch date of PS5.

Currently it would appear that they have a PS5-compatible PS4 game ready for release approximately when the PS5 is released. And I just don't see how that's going to be a bigger draw in November than it would have been in September. Who will buy a PS5 just to play a PS4 game? And if you're just randomly buying a brand new PS5 at launch then why would you be more inclined to also pick up that brand new sci-fi RPG game that released two days ago than if said RPG had released two months ago and which is still all the rage?

Frankly, it does not sound convincing to me, but to each their own.

I thought it was pretty obvious I don't want it for free. I want to support the devs, but I also appreciate being able to access the game I purchased through multiple "platforms".

The Steam version is much more likely to integrate Steam-specific features, or at least benefit from being a part of my Steam library (automatic updates, cloud saves, etc...) and while Gog Galaxy does make that less of a consideration, it does not negate it. Additionally, if/when DLC are released, games on Steam tend to have bundle deals that discount for owning the base game; and third party sellers with good deals are usually selling DLC for Steam versions.

On the other hand, in the unlikely event Steam ever does die, I appreciate the DRM free nature of the Gog releases.