Video Games
New ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Trailer Debuts, Alongside New Dev Diary, Weapons Overview And More
CD Projekt RED held another Night City Wire stream yesterday for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, and in the process debuted new footage alongside a new trailer, a preview of the music for the game, and info on the game’s “Lifepaths”.
For Lifepaths, in Cyberpunk 2077, you could start in one of three different locations with various backgrounds and abilities. The first option, you could start as a Nomad, living miles away from Night City in a remote area known as the Badlands. Family is the most important thing for Nomads as they learn to live together in clans from childhood.
Another option is Street Kid. A transient Night City resident, you have your street smarts, giving you extensive knowledge of various gangs around the city, which can provide you with new options to negotiate with other characters during tough situations.
Lastly, you can choose to be a corporate type as an Arasaka. As an Arasaka member, you will get to learn many secrets about the higher ups in Night City, as well as allow you to rub shoulders with different personalities in the corporate world, and make strong connections.
As for your tools of the trade, Tech Weapons, Power Weapons, and Smart Weapons are three types of guns you can use in Cyberpunk 2077. Tech Weapons are equipped with high-tech software allowing you to shoot through the walls and other sturdy objects, while Power Weapons are your heavy guns like shotguns and machine guns. Smart Weapons are a collective of cutting-edge weaponry that uses a smart tracking system, allowing you some leeway when aiming and shooting. You also have access to melee weapons such as Mantis Blades, a Thermal Katana, and more.
Cyberpunk 2077 is due out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam, Epic Games, and GOG.com on November 19. The game will also see release on PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X.
The rumoured cuts at Xbox have come to fruition, with plans to lay off 3,200 employees. In addition, five studios are also set to be let go, with Double Fine and South of Midnight developer Compulsion breaking off to go independent, while Ninja Theory (Senua) and Undead Labs (State of Decay 3) have been sold.
The fifth studio, Marvel’s Blade and Dishonored studio Arkane Lyon, is set to be divested from Xbox Game Studios, though details are still being kept under wraps.
Per Xbox Wire, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed the layoff and divestment plans at Xbox, but announced no plans for closures or game cancellations.
According to Sharma, Xbox is operating at “margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.” Sharma acknowledged Xbox’s previous pivots to Game Pass, multi-platform, and a “broader portfolio of content” have resulted in “meaningful value”, but it hasn’t been enough.
“Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined,” she said. “We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio.”
As a result, Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions “will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games.” Meanwhile, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs “have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3.” As for Arkane Lyon, the studio’s management “is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.”
The 3,200 cuts will be made throughout Xbox’s financial year across departments, with some areas being more affected than others. This is expected to affect around 20% of the developer’s workforce.
In addition, Bethesda will also undergo “a significant overhaul”, and will pivot to focus on its core franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.
“These changes are about a bigger future for Xbox, not a smaller one,” says Sharma. “The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in Xbox as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making Xbox where the world plays and creates.”