Sooner, even, if they look out the window. CD Projekt, like many studios, have been forced to close their doors over the last few weeks. Posting on their site earlier this week, the devs seemed confident that they’d made the transition seamlessly. But while another of this year’s tentpole releases (PlayStation-exclusive stab ’em up The Last Of Us 2) found itself pushed back indefinitely, CD Projekt are confident Cyberpunk 2077 will launch as planned this September. CD Projekt don’t go into specifics, but do mention that their financial situation lets them absorb the hit of having their staff work out-of-office. When the vidbuds spoke to artist Martha Jonkers to dig into the construction of Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, the dystopian metropolis was still being built from a well kitted out development office - and not an artist’s spare room. Pure speculation, but I’d imagine there’s a fair bit of gear that needs redistributed into people’s homes.
As the whole coronavirus situation escalates, developers have found themselves rapidly adopting remote work practices - whether that’s Paradox sending their employees care packages containing toilet roll or Bungie using Google Stadia to keep Destiny servers online. It’s not just developers who’ve taken a beating from Covid-19, mind. The pandemic has wreaked havoc across the games industry (and err, more importantly, economies and healthcare systems and people’s lives) over the last few weeks and months. We’ve compiled our own hefty list of events, tournaments and conventions that have been forced to cancel or postpone their shows for the safety of everyone involved.