Cyberpunk 2077 was given an extended preview during Microsoft’s press conference at E3 2018, and that section of the show began with an in-theater effect that made it look like the show was being hacked. It’s a neat trick — even if it’s something we’ve seen before — but the glitchy visuals hid a variety of details about the game, as well as free copies of The Witcher 3’s Game of the Year edition.
I am absolutely delighted to report that multiple people on the Polygon team enhanced the image in a variety of ways to try to get the best look at the text possible. I will neither confirm nor deny that I stood over their shoulder with a stern look on my face repeating the word “enhance.” This is a fun job, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
You have to look at multiple frames to get the full text:
And it’s much easier to see if you invert the colors.
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So what does it say? Here are some tidbits from the hidden text:
- CD Projekt Red doesn’t want to hint at a release date. “Quality is the only thing that drives us,” the text says. “It’s the beauty of being an independent studio and your own publisher.”
- There will be free DLC, and no DRM. “Expect nothing less than you got with The Witcher 3,” it states. “As for DRM, CP2077, will be 100 percent DRM-free on PC.” I’m not sure this includes the DRM that’s built into Steam, but let’s not be picky. This is likely a reference to copies sold on GOG.com, which is owned by CD Projekt.
- No microtransactions! “In a single player role-playing game?” the text says. “Are you nuts?”
The full text, as best as we can transcribe, is below. If you see any other secrets in the video, let us know!
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 get 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 she point we made the decisions to resume talking about the game when we have something to show. Something meaningful and substantial. This is because we do realize you’ve been impatiently 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 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 for Cyberpunk, an alternative version of the future where America is in pieces, megacorporations control all aspects of civilized 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 of what show at our booth at E3. Be on the lookout for the previews!
Before we finish, you probably have some questions,
1. When?
When we told you we would only release the game when it’s ready, we meant it. We’re definitely 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 studio 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 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 posted we treat it very seriously.
Yours,
CD PROJEKT RED Team
