CD Projekt RED's hacking style release of the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer at the end of Microsoft's E3 2018 took everyone by surprise. Well, it was expected that CD Projekt RED would be there, but the release style was unique. The 1980s MS-DOS aesthetic was very appropriate and it matched the brash neon style of the trailer.
In between command prompts and flickering glitch screens there was also a secret message, quickly detected by the eager fanbase.
Below is a transcription of the intentionally obscure screen.
*
It’s been over 2077 days since we announced our plan to develop Cyberpunk 2077. We released a CGI trailer, gave some interviews and… went dark. Normal Procedure for these kinds of things - you announce a game and then shut up, roll up your sleeves, and go to work. We wanted to give you The Witcher 3 and both expansions first which is why this period of staying silent was longer than we planned. Sorry for that.
As soon as we concluded work on Blood and Wine, we were able to go full speed ahead with CP2077’s pre-production. But we chose to remain silent. Why? At some point, we made a decision to resume talking about the game only when we have something to show. Something meaningful and substantial. This is because we do realise you’ve been (im)patiently waiting for a very long time, and we wouldn’t like anyone to feel that we’re taking this for granted. On the contrary - it gives us a lot of extra motivation. The hype is real, so that the sweat and tears need to be real, too :).
But, to the point. Today is the day. If you’re seeing this, it means you saw the trailer - our vision of Cyberpunk, an alternative version of the future where America is in pieces, mega-corporations control all aspects of civilised life, and gangs rule the rest. And, while this world is full of adrenaline, don’t let the car chases and guns mislead you. Cyberpunk 2077 is a true single player, story-driven RPG. You’ll be able to create your own character and… well, you’ll get to know the rest from what we show at our booth at E3. Be on the lookout for the previews!
Before we finish, you probably have some questions, right?
1. When?
When we told you we would only release the game when it’s ready, we meant it. We’re definitely much, much closer to a release date than we were back then :), but it’s still not the time to confirm anything, so patience is still required. Quality is the only thing that drives us - it’s the beauty of being an independent study and your own publisher.
2. How big?
Seriously big, but… to be honest, we have no bloody clue at this point in time. Once we put it all together, we will openly tell you what you can expect. And we promise we’ll do this before we start talking about any pre-orders or ask anything of you.
3. Free DLC/Expansions/DRM?
Expect nothing less than you got with The Witcher 3. As for DRM, CP2077 will be 100% DRM free on PC.
4. Microtransactions?
In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?
Once again, thank you for your patience. If you have a minute, do visit cyberpunk.net and share your opinion (about anything) with us. We read everything you post and we treat it very seriously.
Yours,
CD PROJEKT RED Team
*
Another bit of hijinks included an IP address in the middle of the DOS hacking screens.
http://212.91.11.20 leads to a page in the game's website, featuring a red login screen. The password was in the car plate in the trailer: NC20 CP77. Since expired, it was apparently a chance to get access to an exclusive mailing list. Update 6/13/2018: One of the cyberpunks who managed to get access received this email a few hours ago.
Meanwhile, a SSL connection leads to the following screen.
CD Projekt RED is clearly committed to a marketing and teaser campaign fully immersed in the Cyberpunk setting and culture, which is a refreshing and satisfying way to keep fans engaged in unlocking details. More details are expected to emerge before the end of E3 2018. In the meantime, it might be worthwhile to sharpen up your ARG skills based on the way marketing is going so far.
If you want to know more about this and other announcements happening at E3 then be sure to check out our E3 2018 Coverage Hub.
