CD Projekt Red Breaks Down Cyberpunk 2077’s “Scene System” Feature

David Gill October 15, 2019 6:39 PM EST

In a new interview, CD Projekt Red discusses Cyberpunk 2077's new "Scene System" feature.

While at PAX Australia, CD Projekt Red’s John Mamais sat down with GameSpot and he described Cyberpunk 2077‘s new “Scene System.”

“In terms of content, maybe it’s about a third of the game [developed by CDPR Krakow]. We’re doing specific things. For Cyberpunk, for the narrative part, for the cinematic part, there is something new called a Scene System,” says Mamais, who’s the head of CD Projekt Red’s Krakow office. “It’s like our dialogue and cinematic system that occurs within the context of the gameplay of the game. It’s really important because one of the pillars of the development of the project is the idea of full immersion and this new Scene System is all about full immersion. You don’t break into a letterbox formula and see this cutscene taking place, you’re actually in the cutscene and you can control the character or the camera, there are different levels of control depending on the cutscene. It’s fully immersive; it doesn’t take you out of the experience at all. So we’re doing that and also other things too.”

Mamais also says some developers at CD Projekt Red feel good about hitting the game’s April 2020 release date while others are scared of it. Additionally, he reiterates the team’s plans to replicate what they did with The Witcher 3‘s DLC where there was a mix between free DLC with big narrative expansions.

“Everyone is working really hard right now because it’s a tight deadline for us; the game is really big and large-scope. We’re pushing it to the wall,” continues Mamais. “I guess the vibe in the office is there’s always a level of excitement there based on results that we get from going to conferences like this [PAX Aus] and seeing people really excited about the game. So that keeps the hype up but it also puts some pressure on, so that’s the kind of vibe. You’re in a vice, in a way, which takes its toll on the team but there is… a healthy, extrinsic kind of pressure to make [the team] really excel.”

Cyberpunk 2077 launches on April 16, 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.