Cyberpunk Red: Status Report
Hello, all!
We’ve been saying for a while now that we were trying hard to get Cyberpunk RED out before the end of summer (summer in the United States, that is) but, given the current date, it is obvious we aren’t going to make that mark. Here’s the current status of the game.
- The book is fully written. We’re going through a final round of editing now.
- The project has grown somewhat over the last year and there’s a lot of new lore that needed extra verification (both with the original Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebooks and with the data from Cyberpunk 2077). We actually reached a point where we put a hard line on including new information because we could have kept going. Expect the Cyberpunk RED to be nearly twice the size of the Cyberpunk 2020 core book.
- There’s a few pieces of art we’re still waiting on. Most of them involve illustrations for the three different fiction pieces that’ll be part of the book. In several cases we had to coordinate with CD Projekt Red on art because of shared characters.
- Once we’ve finalized editing and layout, we’ll send the book off to our printer. The printing itself won’t take long but a large volume of hardcover books take a while to bind, especially when the printer already has a backlog they’re catching up on due to the pandemic.
- We’re currently working with our printer and our distributors to shorten the time it takes to get from the printing press and the binding room to stores.
- When we have more information, we’ll do our best to update everyone. Right now, we’re officially saying “when it is ready” for the book’s release because we don’t have enough information yet. We could give you a best guess but we don’t want that to go off again. We are working hard, within the limits of health and safety for our staff and freelancers, to get Cyberpunk RED out as soon as possible.
The question of “why not release it via digital channels as soon as it is ready” has come up before and probably will again. Here’s the answer:
This year hasn’t been kind to game retailers and distributors. We don’t kid ourselves that Cyberpunk RED will push anyone’s ledgers into the black by itself, but we want to give small businesses, many of whom stuck by us and kept selling our stuff when the world at large thought RTG was dead, as much of a fighting chance as we can. After all, we’re a small business ourselves. And yes, we’re aware some of the distributors and retailers who carry our stuff don’t fit the definition of “small business” but there’s many who do and that’s who we’re concerned about. The rest of the answer has to do with various market and business-related factors. This all may change if we feel circumstances warrant but, for right now, this is where we are on the matter.
We want to thank everyone who is excited about Cyberpunk RED, from newer gamers just discovering the world to older gamers who have been with us since the first black box set. We also want to thank you for your patience and your support. We’re looking forward to exploring the street of Night City with you in the Dark Futures of 2020, 2045, and 2077.
Stay safe in the streets.
Categories
Thanks for the update
Stay safe
Is there any possibility for us to get a digital copy when we buy the physical hardcopy? Either directly through you or via something like https://www.bits-and-mortar.com/?
We aren’t planning on a combined purchase at this time.
yo, i deeply aprecciate the lengths you guys went to keep things transparent with us 🙏🙏🙏 pieces of info like this greatly help making us understand what is happening in the background.
RTG it sounds like you are putting your heart and soul into this, the magnum opus of Cyberpunk core rulebooks!
I 100% support the decision not to release an electronic version before the game hits the shelves. It’s great that you’re supporting the smaller retailers in this way. I’m lucky enough to have a local RPG store here in the UK who are fans of your work, so I will wait with excitement when I hear that the RPG distribution Nomad family is on its way. 🙂
Thank you, stay safe, and all the best.
One of my first RPGs back in the early 90’s was Cyberpunk 2020, and I’ve really been looking forward to RED. That said, as much as I want to dive into the newest edition of a favorite, you’re doing the right thing, and I 100% support you.
All those juicy extra bits that you can’t add to this book… do I smell the first source book already?
Yes is the right answer. (LOL)
While disappoimted by the delay, the book and game already sound awesome. I can’t wait!
Hey, it’s good. I can wait as can the rest of my group. Hope the fires aren’t causing you guys too many problems. We’ll see you when we see you
I plan to buy the hardcover, however, how long will it be till there is a PDF version of said hardcover after purchase? Are we looking at 6 months to a year after initial release or like 90 days or something like that?
We’ll release the PDF at the same time we release the physical version.
Thank you for the update, for your support of small businesses through this difficult time and for taking your time to get this book right.
Hopefully the full game will include an updated map of Night City!?
Yes.
Any updates?! I had a dream last night that it released on 10/22/20. Any chance I’m a prophet?
Thanks for the update! My group has been playing using the Jumpstart Kit but we’re feeling like we’re reaching the end of its possibilities, though we’re very excited for the official Red book to come out.
Does anyone know how cover is handled in Red? We’re giving negative modifiers to hit right now, but we’re wondering what the official rules will say on it. Anyone know from playing 2020?
Thanks!
Would you happen to know when we can reserve the book on Amazon?
We do not sell directly through Amazon. Some vendors might but we don’t know of a specific one.
Excellent news. Love what you do, and have since the nineties. |Keep up the great work, thank you all, and stay safe too.
I am so excited to see what you guys have in store for us. Cyberpunk 2020 was iconic growing up. A representation of all of the best things in sci-fi rpgs. Now, as a father, I will get to enjoy the new version with my sons for many years to come. Thank you, everyone at RTG for working so hard on this. That I’ll be able to spend time with my sons over some Cyberpunk Red is so very awesome. Thank you again. I can’t wait to get some copies of the book from my local Comic Shop!
Absolutely fantastic that you’re getting it out so soon, all things considered — I’m really chuffed for you guys that you’re able to hit stores well in time for Christmas!