What the heck is going on with Cyberpunk 2077 and PS5 and Xbox Series X?

Update: Cyberpunk is currently heavily discounted in a big Xbox sale.

The Cyberpunk 2077 launch in 2020 was a disaster to say the least, but the promise of a proper next-generation update for the PS5 and Xbox Series X was tipped to make some form of amends. 

That update was expected to arrive at the start of 2021, but as the year passed on there was no hint of the patch; come the fall, there were murmurs of the next-gen upgrade being delayed. Now more than a year on from the release of Cyberpunk 2077 and there's still no concrete release date for the patch. 

So where the heck is it? Well, that’s a good question and one that developer CD Projekt Red hasn’t answered yet. 

But the PlayStation Game Size account, which has a reputation for somewhat accurate game leaks and tips, tweeted an image of Cyberpunk 2077’s main character V along with the words “Cyberpunk 2077” and “PS5” with a handshake emoji between the two. 

This was followed by tweets claiming that a “PS5 Native Version” could arrive sometime in mid-February or early March. How accurate this is, or the source that PlayStation Game Size is getting its information from isn't clear. 

What we do know is that the Cyberpunk 2077 next-gen patch is well overdue, and we’d be very surprised if it was pushed back any further than the first half of this year.

So what can we expect from a PS5 native version for Cyberpunk 2077? Better compatibility and performance with the PS5’s hardware for a start. Currently, the game will run on the PS5 in an emulation mode, which doesn’t seem to make use of the performance Sony’s console has to offer. But with more access to the PS5’s graphical grunt and processor power, Cyberpunk 2077 could run more smoothly and offer better graphical settings,

We’d expect higher fidelity textures for objects and character in the game, as well as a fixed 4K resolution and a steady frame rate of either 60 frames per seconds or 30 fps, We’d also like to see some form of ray tracing applied to the PS5 version, though that can be very demanding for some of the best gaming PCs, let alone a game console.

Weirdly, there's been precious little word on an Xbox Series X next-gen patch for Cyberpunk 2077. But it should be offered as part of the Xbox’s Smart Delivery system that will seamlessly upgrade Xbox One games to Xbox Series X versions.

As it stands, we’ve not got a huge amount of information to work off here, as CD Projekt Red has been fairly quiet on the next steps it plans to take with Cyberpunk 2077.

Ultimately, the more time spent on the game the better. But Cyberpunk 2077 needs something to keep it in the gaming public’s eye and with games like Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring on the horizon, Cyberpunk 2077 needs to make a splash with a next-gen patch sooner than later or risk fading into obscurity.