Last Friday, CD Projekt Red dropped the first major update for its troubled open-world shooter, Cyberpunk 2077. “Major” is a relative term. While larger than previous updates, last week’s patch 1.1 focuses more on stability fixes rather than a wide-ranging overhaul. In fact, it may have even made the game worse—by introducing a potentially game-breaking bug.
This article originally ran on January 23, 2021. It’s been updated to include a suggested workaround from CDPR.
Patch 1.1 addresses an issue in the mission “Down on the Street” where Takemura would not call, thereby preventing any progress in the mission. He’ll call now, apparently, but then won’t say a word. Some users say that reloading old saves or creating new save files doesn’t fix it either.
There’s at least one apparent workaround. First, try to call Judy before Takemura calls. When he does, hang up the line, then tackle a side job. (The player who reported this workaround tackled a Delamain side-quest.) Wait 24 hours in-game and Takemura should call in—with dialogue and everything—allowing you to progress in “Down on the Street.”
(Update: 9:45 a.m. ET, 1/25: CD Projekt Red has published a workaround for this bug. First, load up a save file from before you and Takemura leave Wakako’s office. Wrap up your chat with Takemura immediately and skip ahead 23 in-game hours. That should do the trick.)
Kotaku has reached out to CD Projekt Red for comment.
I’m playing Cyberpunk 2077 on an Xbox Series X, where it performs better than it appears to on last-gen consoles, but not—as one of my roommates likes to so frequently remind me—as well as it does on his high-end rig. Still, I’ve run into some bugs since day one. Usually, they’re garden-variety hiccups: NPCs floating in the air in ways they should not, or a weapon refusing to reload even though I’ve tapped “X,” like, eighteen times. Small potatoes.
The bug that soured me on the game popped up during the “Stadium Love” side-quest, in which you meet up with a bunch of veterans, throw back bad vodka shots like you’re at a bad frat party (“What is this, rubbing alcohol?” V asks), and then engage in a shooting contest. In one attempt, I wasn’t able pull out my gun—pretty much an instant DQ in a shoot-off. In another, I was, but all of the veterans around me also would whip theirs out and then start shooting at me. That sucked too. I decided to shelve the game until it was in a better state.
“Stadium Love” is not listed among the dozen or so quests that were addressed in the 1.1 patch. Against my better judgement, after downloading the 16.5GB (!!!) update, I tried the quest again. I was able to shoot my gun without issue. I also still got shot at. So, not perfect.
CDPR says the update addresses an issue with the quest “M’ap Tann Pèlen,” where players could run into a roadblock trying to talk to the character Mr. Hands on the phone. I had no issue doing so over the weekend, but hadn’t tried the quest at all before downloading the 1.1 patch. Who knows if I would’ve hit a snag, say, three weeks ago.
In general, after spending some time with the game post-update, I can say it feels pretty much exactly the same as it did before I put it down. Maybe those on last-gen consoles are seeing more benefits. Right now, social media seems to be loud with news outlets noting the patch exists or players pointing out how thin the notes seem. CDPR says this patch is “focused on various stability improvements and bug fixes” and “lays the groundwork for the upcoming patches.” Next one’s due in February, per a statement from December.
Twelve days ago, CDPR released a video stating that January’s big update would release within the following ten days. Last week’s 1.1 patch, in the most technical sense, hits that mark. These are indeed updates that indeed address some issues with the game. It also landed at 5:00 p.m. ET (10:00 p.m. Warsaw time) on a Friday. Make of that what you will.
Is Cyberpunk 2077 “good” now, in the way No Man’s Sky clawed its way to greatness? No. Not yet. But this is one small step in the right direction. I’m eager to see what’s next.