In my article “Cyberpunk 2077”, I provided my perspective regarding the controversial and disappointing launch of the highly anticipated game from CD Projekt Red.

I concluded with the following:

“I feel the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 must become a case study (and warning) for all future game releases. The key learning would be to ensure the marketing and hype do not get ahead of the product itself, which ultimately forced a release that disrespected the CD Projekt Red team, disappointed customers, and resulted in considerable brand damage that may take years to recover.”

As a technologist, this release highlighted a major challenge faced by all software releases, not limited to games.

Specifically, the difficult balance between meeting a deadline and shipping a quality product.

This challenge is especially true for premium software, such as “Triple-A” games, as there is almost always corporate pressure to recoup the significant cost of development. This pressure is compounded when other external forces are applied, such as marketing campaigns and co-promotions, which are often time-bound.

There is also the very real issue of shipping a product to meet the market demand, something that John Carmack has discussed when reflecting on the development of Rage.

John highlights that waiting for the product to be “perfect” can also be detrimental, as the world continues to evolve, including changes in user expectations.

This is where I believe the product-first principles, outlined as part of the Product Operating Model from the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) are very relevant.

For example, the Product Team principles, which include:

  • Empowered with Problems to Solve: Product teams must be given a problem to solve, rather than solutions to build, and, most importantly, are held accountable for the results. They are empowered to make decisions and are not “order-takers”.

  • Outcomes over Output: Establish outcome-based goals, leveraging Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), which create focus on the priority, promote curiosity and provide relevant context. Outcomes are the results of actions, not features.

  • Sense of Ownership: Product teams must have the sponsorship and autonomy to come up with the solutions to the problems (Product Discovery), alongside the responsibility to build them (Product Delivery).

  • Collaboration: Promote respectful discourse, assuming good intentions when challenging ideas or decisions. Encourage a diverse perspective, but when a decision is concluded, ensure total commitment.

Relating this to Cyberpunk 2077, I believe CD Projekt Red lost sight of these core principles, allowing the external pressure and hype to overshadow the product itself.

Thankfully, over the past five years, CD Projekt Red has been on the road to redemption, with a clear focus on the product itself, demonstrating humility and vulnerability, with clear actions that address previous issues.

Most notably, “Update v2.0” and the Phantom Liberty expansion, which was released in September 2023.

The decision to persevere against the odds is admirable, as it would have been very easy to step away from controversy, shifting gears to a new project without the negative “baggage”.

With the recent release of Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo Switch 2 and Apple macOS, I consider the CD Projekt Red redemption arc complete, with a product that fulfils the original vision, delivered at scale across multiple platforms, targeting a wide/diverse audience.

Kudos and congratulations to the team. I suspect the journey has been very challenging. However, I hope the learnings will allow them to proceed with a new sense of purpose, with hard learned lessons about the importance of ensuring the customer is at the centre of every product decision.

gaming cd_projekt_red cyberpunk_2077 development product_operating_model silicon_valley_product_group svpg marty_cagan inspired empowered transformed strategy