Criminal activity in the game is punished, with cops going after runners and killing individuals afflicted by cyberpsychosis with no questions asked. The game’s interface will now show how likely the cops are coming after a player through a Heat system displayed on screen. Those who reach the maximum level of Heat — 5 stars — will encounter a Max Tac mini-boss experience. If they choose to run from authorities, they’ll get into car chases and road blocks that they’ll have to escape. In case the cops manage to catch them, they will not be able to surrender peacefully or bribe their way out. But if they manage to shake off the cops, then they’ll know when they’re no longer being chased when NPCs start leaving the scene.

Update 2.0 also gives players new ways to take out enemies from their vehicle. They can now shoot their weapons from the back of their motorcycles and through their car’s windshield or out of its side window. They can also use new mounted weapons for certain nomad cars. Meanwhile, netrunners can hack and take over their enemies’ cars and make them explode. In addition to all those, the update also comes with UI and UX improvements, new loot, crafting changes and new radio stations.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, on the other hand, adds a brand new storyline, characters — including one modeled after Idris Elba — and quests to the game. It will be available on September 26 and will cost players $30.

The post Cyberpunk 2077's free 2.0 update arrives September 21 appeared first on Best News.

"The Ukrainian localization of Cyberpunk 2077 contains several remarks that could offend some Russian players," the studio said in a (Google translated) statement. "These remarks were not written by CD Projekt Red employees and do not represent our views. We are working to fix them and replace them in the next update. We apologize for this situation and are taking steps to ensure it does not happen again."

As originally reported by Zone of Games (via a Rock Paper Shotgun report) some dialog makes reference to Ukrainian resistance slogans. Elsewhere, graffiti suggests Crimea is still part of Ukraine in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, following Russia's 2014 invasion. Other messages refer to citizen missile detection, COVID initiatives under President Zelensky, derogatory terms for Russians and more.

The Ukrainian localization was reportedly handled by the Ukrainian company SBT Localization, which also worked on Baldur's Gate 3, Darkest Dungeon and other titles. The changes were noticed by Russian and Ukrainian players, with multiple complaints registered on Steam and CD Projekt Red forums.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, deemed unlawful by a majority of nations, has had a deleterious effect on Ukraine's game industry. Developer GSC Game World was forced to halt work on Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl after the aggressions forced it to relocate staff to Prague in order to help employees and their families "survive" the conflict, it said. Earlier this year, Ukraine sent letters to Sony, Microsoft and Valve, urging them to block the title Atomic Heart from their gaming platforms over concerns about Russian connections.

The post CD Projekt Red apologizes for anti-Russia references in Cyberpunk 2077 update appeared first on Best News.

You probably don’t know Anonymous Content by name, but the company’s behind a slew of high-profile and critically-acclaimed TV shows, like True Detective and Mr. Robot. It’s also helped produce recent films like The Revenant and Spotlight, but also classics like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich. This is a serious production company, so we could be in for something special.

While CD Projekt Red hasn’t announced whether this will be a show or movie, there are some hints indicating it’ll be a TV series. The developer went out of its way to note that it’s working closely with certain members of the Anonymous Content team, all of which are heavily involved in the TV side of things. For instance, the dev called out the company’s Head of Television Garret Kemble and noted Chief Creative Officer David Levine’s decade-long tenure at HBO. Levine was heavily involved with getting Game of Thrones and Westworld on the network, in addition to other hit shows.

This situation here looks slightly different from Netflix’s The Witcher show, as that’s adapted from the source books and not the video game series. Cyberpunk 2077 is a wholly original IP, giving CD Projekt Red a good amount of creative control over how the story plays out. To that end, the developer hasn’t indicated this would be a one-to-one adaptation of the game, rather stating its “set in the world” of Cyberpunk 2077.

This looks to be in the extreme early stages of development, so it could be years before we see the lawless Badlands or the slums of Dogtown in live action. This series or movie will join the Netflix cartoon Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

When you think about it, it’s pretty nuts that the Cyberpunk IP is flourishing in this way. The game launched as a buggy mess, forcing Sony to actually pull it from its online store and both CD Projekt Red and Microsoft to issue refunds to unhappy customers. Since that disastrous launch, the developer has slowly and steadily improved just about every aspect of the game, transforming whole gameplay mechanics in the process. The end result? Cyberpunk 2077 is now considered to be a truly special video game, with 25 million sales to prove it. Even the recently-released Phantom Liberty DLC has already racked up 3 million downloads. There’s also a pseudo-sequel on the way.

The post There’s a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 show or movie on the way appeared first on Best News.

Instead of replacing Reczek outright, CD Projekt Red worked with Respeecher, the Ukraine-based voice tech company known for deaging Mark Hamill’s voice in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett to create a young Luke Skywalker. Another actor was hired to speak the new lines, and Respeecher’s software reworked them into Reczek’s voice, CD Projekt localization director Mikołaj Szwed told Bloomberg. Reczek, who Szwed described as “one of the best Polish voice talents,” had also voiced major roles in The Witcher series.

AI has become a contentious topic in the entertainment industry, and striking Hollywood actors are currently fighting for more protections around the use of their likenesses, among other things. In September, SAG-AFTRA voted in favor of a strike authorization for video game actors, too, whose jobs could be threatened by studios’ increasing reliance on AI. Zelda Williams — Robin Williams’ daughter — recently slammed the practice of emulating deceased actors using AI, saying that they cannot consent. In this case, CD Projekt Red says Reczek’s family was “very supportive.”

The post CD Projekt Red used AI to include a deceased actor's voice in Cyberpunk 2077 DLC appeared first on Best News.

You’ll be able to play up to five hours of the sprawling first-person RPG at no extra cost between 11AM ET on March 28 and 2:59AM ET on April 1. PlayStation Plus Premium members also have access to a five-hour trial of the base game, but CDPR notes that no subscription is necessary to hop in this weekend.

If you’re an efficient player, five hours of game time might just be enough to see you through the pivotal heist mission toward the end of the first act. It’s there that the story really opens up and perhaps might entice you to buy the full game to keep playing.

Cyberpunk 2077 had a disastrous debut in 2020 and was in such rough shape that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store and offered refunds. The game’s in much better condition these days. I dropped off of Cyberpunk 2077 after playing for a few hours at launch. The arrival of the current-gen console versions in early 2022 pulled me back in and I ended up enjoying the base game. I've yet to check out the highly regarded Phantom Liberty expansion or the 2.0 update that overhauled some of the key systems, but newcomers will be able to get a taste of the latter for free this weekend.

The post Cyberpunk 2077 will have a free trial on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S this weekend appeared first on Best News.