Cyberpunk 2077 ‘is shorter’ than Witcher 3, ‘but more replayable’

Cyberpunk 2077’s main campaign will be shorter than The Witcher 3’s story but will make up for it with much higher replayability, CD Projekt Red has reportedly said.

According to an attendee of the developer’s annual community event in Poland, CDPR is yet to measure the length of the game when all encounters and “smaller” side quests are taken into account, but it confirmed that the main story and major side-quests will take less time to complete than Witcher 3’s.

Game length aggregation site How Long to Beat measures Witcher 3’s main campaign as taking an average of 51 hours to complete.

At the same community event, CD Projekt Red reportedly detailed Cyberpunk 2077’s side quests, which are said to be more complex than those in its previous title.

Witcher 3’s side quest system was reportedly described as “a single line, with a bunch of branches sticking out of it,” whereas in comparison CDPR said Cyberpunk 2077’s side missions will often evolve into further side quests which in turn impact other quests, including the main story.

A Cyberpunk 2077 designer previously told VGC that the game’s side quests are “a crucial part of the game.”

“I can’t give details, but… we were talking about one [side quest] which I didn’t even know we could do or why we would do it,” level designer Max Pears said in September.

“I wish I could talk about it, because honestly there’s one side-quest – and believe me when I say, you’ll know it when you see it – of absolute craziness. There are some fantastic interactions of not just the levels but the characters that you meet.”

The Cyberpunk 2077 release date is April 16, 2020 for PC and consoles. It’s available to pre-order now at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Base.com and Game.

CD Projekt has suggested Cyberpunk 2077 could be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett, although not at launch.

For more on the game, check out VGC’s interviews with CD Projekt Red senior concept artist Marthe Jonkers and Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith.