Cyberpunk 2077 Multiplayer Is in Works, Will Have Microtransactions

On September 4th CD Projekt Red has given a webcast to the investors as an hour-long presentation that covered some very important questions about Cyberpunk 2077‘s development, marketing, and future releases for the game, such as the next-gen releases and the multiplayer release.

We discussed what the developers had to say about Night City Wire and the upcoming marketing efforts in this news post.

In this post we will talk specifically about the multiplayer, as this is the expansion that CDPR has been talking about since last year (here is us covering the news), and many fans are deeply invested into its release. Witchercyberpunk on official CD Projekt Red forums punctuated his message addressing microtransactions: “please… Don’t… Screw… Up.” The discussion had many fans on edge on Twitter as well and @CyberpunkGame had to address the concerns:

Cyberpunk multiplayer/online, which is a separate project, will have some microtransactions, but we said that a year ago already. Like always, expect us treating your money with respect.

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) September 7, 2020

So, when is Cyberpunk 2077 Multiplayer coming out, and should we worry about the microtransactions? Will this affect the singleplayer experience?
Well, here is the short answer:

• Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer will be a standalone experience set to be released sometime after 2021, after all major expansions and DLCs for the single-player game have been released.
• As mentioned in the tweet, CD Projekt Red will do their best to be mindful about how they ask for your money in the multiplayer game, but they do expect the game not only to support itself but to also “turn a profit.” We will discuss some of the things the company’s CEO, Adam Kiciński, has stated in regards to the purchases in the section below.
• CD Projekt Red has stated many times that the main single-player experience will not have any microtransactions. This applies to the multiplayer mode only. When you pay for the core game and its DLCs you get the full experience and all of the patches and updates that come with it. It doesn’t sound like CD Projekt Red will make any changes to this in the future, even after the multiplayer standalone comes out.

And now, let’s digest some of it!

Cyberpunk 2077 Multiplayer Microtransactions: CD Projekt Red Still Cares

Adam Kiciński, CD Projekt Red’s President and Joint CEO, had this to say about the monetization of the multiplayer game: “… it’s too early. Of course the game is for free, but expect some monetization. We’ll test monetization as well in soft launches, but, as always, as I’ve said about multiplayer Cyberpunk, it won’t be too aggressive. Expect no paywall, no overmilking games – but of course the game should turn a profit.”

So, here is what we can gather from this: the game will be free to play, monetization will be aimed at turning a profit, but it won’t plague the game and it should be quite playable without it. The feature will be tested in soft launches prior to the release.

For now, of course, we will just have to take CD Projekt Red’s word for it. And their word is, quoting @CyberpunkGame, “Like always, expect us treating your money with respect.”

With how CDPR has reacted to the premium pricing of the next-gen console games, how they treated their pre-orders, and how open they are about their company’s values in regards to the players, there are many reasons to believe that they will stay reasonable even when it comes to such a sensitive topic as microtransactions.