Cyberpunk 2077 will release in 2020 with no pre-order bonuses, and there's a good reason why, according to developer CD Projekt Red. The official release date is April 16th, 2020, and it's expected to be one of the biggest games of next year. It was announced in 2013, but players really started paying attention after CD Projekt Red released their mega hit, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, in 2015. The noise surrounding the project has been so explosive over the past few weeks, CD Projekt Red has had to personally debunk some Cyberpunk 2077 rumors.
A lot of new, confirmed information about Cyberpunk 2077 was announced during the E3 2019 conference. One of the biggest splashes was the surprise reveal of Keanu Reeves playing a major character in the game. The demoed section that was shown at the conference was about halfway through the main story to give viewers an idea of what the main game was like. Although the presentation was only for the press at E3, it's been confirmed that the same section will be made public at Pax West 2019 in August.
More information has trickled out since the conference, and that includes the small, but significant news that Cyberpunk 2077 will have no pre-order bonuses, according to Twisted Voxel. When asked what pre-order content players could expect, the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account responded, "No we don't do that," in a private message. They went on to explain their reasoning. "Every person that buys the game gets exactly the same in-game content, no matter if they buy in pre-orders, on release date or two years later." There will be several different editions of the game that come with different collectibles, but content and gameplay will never be locked behind a paywall.
This is the same strategy that CD Projekt took when they released The Witcher 3, and it seemed to have paid off. Though The Witcher 3 did have two large expansions that were released for a price, all DLC for the base game, including different outfits and special hunts, were released free-of-charge. This is a rare situation for the modern video game industry, which has increasingly been under attack for predatory monetization. CD Projekt Red has not revealed what might be added to the game before or after release.
Over the past few years, video game companies have become known for nickel-and-diming their customers before, during, and especially after a game's release. Pre-order content is particularly egregious because that content often becomes unattainable after a game's release date. While there are many players who will happily pre-order games that they are excited for, other players will wait to hear reviews. Some players will even wait for patches to fix a game that may not be completely playable upon release. Unfortunately, those last groups miss out on playing the "full" game because they didn't pre-order. CD Projekt Red is earning a lot of goodwill by ensuring that anyone who purchases Cyberpunk 2077 will be able to enjoy the full experience, no matter when they buy it.
Source: Twisted Voxel