CD Projekt Red is making it so that players can go through the entire Cyberpunk 2077 game without harming a hair on anyone's head.
The devs had previously stated that the game would not be able to be completed in pacifist mode but, having taken fan feedback into consideration, they are making arrangements for gamers looking to beat the game while not killing anyone in the process.
Lead quest designer Pawel Sasko told VG247 as much, admitting that fan concern led to the change of heart and prompted CDPR to go back on its original plans despite the difficulty.
“Yes, that was the feedback from you guys actually, because the surveys that we got from you guys, we always check that, we really check them, and there was something that was appearing there," Sasko explained.
“And we were like, ‘we can cover it actually, it’s just a bit more work, and when we can figure it out’ and we made the decision, okay, fuck it, just let’s support it completely, in every quest, every side quest, minor quest, every street story, absolute, literally in every possible scenario, you don’t have to kill.”
While Cyberpunk isn't viewed as a complete immersive sim, at least not by the devs, it's certainly leaning that way as the upcoming game should give players the freedom to choose whether or not to kill anyone.
“I don’t think Cyberpunk is an immersive sim, to the fullest potential,” Sasko added. “Because this is not really the game we’re trying to make. However, there’s lots of elements from immersive sim that you will find there. You have a fluid class system, you can pick this skill, that skill, combine them, add to it.
“As a cyberrunner you [can] use your double jump to get to the high point where there is an access point, to access the squad that you can now hack – and then, I don’t know, blow their heads off or make them commit suicide or explode their brains, or do all the things that you would normally won’t be able to if you were just netrunner. Because you wouldn’t be able to access that point. It’s cohesive everywhere. In that way it’s definitely a level of immersive sim.”
So, it appears that fan feedback has been impacting CDPR in a major way. The devs made another change to their plans recently, announcing that Cyberpunk 2077's collector's edition will be available for PC in the US after having revealed the opposite days prior.
Cyberpunk 2077 will be out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020.