Here we are, less than two weeks away from the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. After a series of delays the open-world sci-fi RPG releases December 10, 2020 worldwide on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, and fans cannot wait. Ever since Witcher series developer CD Projekt Red announced their take on the Cyberpunk table-top RPG world back in May 2012, fans have been clamoring for every morsel of information that they can get their hands on. You can tell this game is going to be a hit, and it has only really been since E3 2019 that we have started to get real information on CD Projekt Red's latest project.
Now with only days until fans get to explore the neon-lit landscape of Night City in Cyberpunk, we are finally getting more info as to how the game will run on next-gen hardware. It has been confirmed that the studio is working on a full on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version of the game; however, that will not be coming until sometime next year at the earliest. Though the game is backwards compatible with the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, not all fans have been able to get their hands on Sony and Microsoft's new shiny machines. For those who have not been able to make the next-gen jump, CD Projekt Red has your back.
NEWS
As specified in a series of thread on CD Projekt Red's Technical Support Forum, it has been announced that fans will be able to carry over their saves from the last-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 to next gen through backwards compatibility, when they do upgrade their console. The post for PS4 to PS5 says:
If you are playing the game on PlayStation 4, you will be able to continue playing it on PlayStation 5 with backwards compatibility.
This also means your save files from the PlayStation 4 will be compatible and you will be able to pick up the game at the same point where you’ve left off (as long as you are using the same PlayStation account).
They go on to specify the three different options on PlayStation for transferring your saved data from your old one to your new one:
1. Connect to your PlayStation Plus account and upload your saves or
2. Transfer your data via LAN cable or wireless connection (WiFi) or
3. Use a compatible storage device to copy and transfer your saves to the same PSN account on PlayStation 5.
As for on the Xbox side of things, CD Projekt Red is taking advantage of Xbox's 'Smart Delivery', saying:
Smart Delivery allows you to continue playing the game on Xbox Series X/S from where you’ve left off on the Xbox One.
Make sure you are connected to the internet so your saved data is uploaded to the cloud or connect both your Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S to the same network and use the system network transfer option.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Fans should be nothing but excited by this. Cyberpunk is looking to be a very long game, with one specific dev recently tweeting that he is 175 hours into the game and has not yet beaten it. Plus if CD Projekt Red's past works like The Witcher 3 are any indication, 175 hours could just be scratching the surface of this potentially massive game. So, cross-generational saves are going to be a godsend for anyone thinking of picking up a next-gen console in the middle of their Cyberpunk playthrough.
As for when the full on next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 is going to come, who knows? It has been teased for next year, but with the recent news of the game's DLC and multiplayer being pushed back, it could be longer than expected. For now, fans will have to do with the incremental upgrades that come with playing a game through backwards compatibility on their next-gen consoles.