As the United States wrestles racial reform and civil upheaval, games-makers are delaying their biggest events so they don't steal the spotlight.
A bit ago Sony postponed one of gaming's most anticipated reveals--the PS5 event--to an unknown date. "We want to stand back and let more important voices be heard," Sony said in a statement. Now CD Projekt RED is doing the same with its planned Cyberpunk 2077 stream.
CDPR has delayed its Night City Wire event to June 25, two weeks after the original date.
"We still look forward to sharing new information about CP'77, but more important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard. We wholeheartedly stand against racism, intolerance and violence. Black Lives Matter," the developer said on Twitter.
Now that everything is digital and pre-recorded, these delays don't have such a tremendous impact.
That being said, Cyberpunk 2077 needs to be a huge hit. CD Projekt RED has a lot riding on the game. Not only has the dev spent tens of millions on the game's development, but also outlining the game's overall future and how it'll carry forward for multiple years. CDPR specifically designs its games to carry forward for at least half a decade, similar to The Witcher 3, complete with expansions, re-releases, and tons of merchandise. With the PS5 and Xbox Series X console gen on the horizon, CDPR will have opportunities for re-releases, GOTY editions, enhanced versions, etc.
Will the Night City Wire delay hurt Cyberpunk 2077 sales? Not one bit. We're confident the game will be huge, and that CDPR's investment will pay off. But it might not necessarily be able to afford to keep pushing back huge events and showcases like these.