As America continues to struggle with the ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd, the games industry has responded with a overflowing amount of support for those calling for change. Part of that, however, has meant a shift in priorities for many. This week, that’s resulted in a lot of cancellations and delays, including Cyberpunk 2077‘s upcoming announcements.
CD Projekt Red were due to stream a fresh round of gameplay and developer commentary about Cyberpunk 2077, their upcoming first-person RPG, on June 12. The stream would have taken place right in the middle of all of the replacement livestreams and online presentations replacing the void left by E3 2020’s cancellation.
But as a result of the misery, racism and dehumanisation engulfing the United States right now, the developers felt it was appropriate to delay the Night City Wire stream by a fortnight. “More important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard,” CD Projekt Red said.
We decided to move Night City Wire to Jun 25th. We still look forward to sharing new information about CP’77, but more important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard. We wholeheartedly stand against racism, intolerance and violence. Black Lives Matter.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) June 2, 2020
The new stream will take place on June 25, although precise AEST/NZST dates are yet to be announced.
The move follows suit as other companies have delayed or postponed their events and announcements. IGN, organisers of the Summer of Gaming events that were due to replace some of the E3 2020 conferences, announced that the Summer of Gaming events would be postponed “until June 8”.
Other companies have supported efforts more directly. Humble Bundle, which is owned by IGN’s parent company, has created a $US1 million fund specifically to publish and promote video games from black developers. Square Enix also announced on Wednesday morning that they would donate $US250,000, as well as matching any direct donations from Square Enix staff, to the Black Lives Matter non-profit and other charities combating racial prejudice worldwide.
— Humble Bundle (@humble) June 2, 2020
#BlackLivesMatter (1/2) pic.twitter.com/luAbZQWmuQ
— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) June 2, 2020
Sony has also moved to match Naughty Dog employee donations, after postponing a livestream of upcoming PlayStation 5 games.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/06/ps5-games-delayed-showcase/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/ewi9fuvarl9u1lggqne3.png” title=”Sony Delays PlayStation 5 Showcase” excerpt=”Sony will postpone its PlayStation 5 event, originally scheduled for June 5 so that “more important voices can be heard.””]
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