If you were scrolling through gaming forums back in May 2012, you probably saw a headline that felt like a fever dream. CD Projekt Red, the Polish studio that had just finished making The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, announced they were working on a sci-fi RPG. Back then, it didn't even have the "2077" attached to it. It was just Cyberpunk.
The announcement happened during a summer conference in Warsaw. It was May 30, 2012, to be exact. Most of us weren't even thinking about the PS4 or Xbox One yet. We were still playing on the 360 and PS3. Looking back, it’s wild to realize that when was Cyberpunk 2077 announced matters because it happened before The Witcher 3 was even a thing on our radars.
The original May 2012 reveal nobody remembers
When Marcin Iwiński stood on that stage in 2012, he wasn't showing off Keanu Reeves or neon-soaked gunfights. He was showing concept art. The goal was basically a "we're hiring" sign disguised as a major game reveal. They needed talent. They needed people who knew how to build a futuristic city, which is a far cry from the muddy swamps of Velen.
Honestly, the timeline is kinda messy. People often confuse the actual announcement with the legendary teaser trailer. You know the one—the girl with the scythe-arms (Mantix Blades) getting shot in the face in slow motion while "Bullets" by Archive plays in the background. That trailer didn't drop until January 10, 2013. That was nearly eight months after the initial word got out.
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Why did they announce it so early?
It feels like a lifetime ago. Usually, developers wait until a game is maybe two or three years out before they start the hype machine. CD Projekt Red did the opposite. They announced it when it was basically just a pile of documents and a license from Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the original tabletop RPG.
- Recruitment: They needed to lure developers away from big AAA studios.
- Investors: They had to show shareholders they weren't just "the Witcher company."
- Hype: They wanted to stake a claim on the cyberpunk genre before anyone else did.
When was Cyberpunk 2077 announced vs. when development actually started
Here is the kicker: the game wasn't really being built in 2012. Not in the way we think.
The studio was still deep in the weeds with Geralt of Rivia. Most of the team was finishing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and then moved straight into its massive expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. It wasn't until late 2016, after the final Witcher DLC was out the door, that the "real" full-scale development on Cyberpunk 2077 kicked into high gear.
That means for about four years, the game existed mostly as a logo and a dream. When fans ask when was Cyberpunk 2077 announced, they often assume the game was in the oven for eight full years. In reality, it was more like four years of active, all-hands-on-deck production. That's a huge distinction that explains a lot about the state the game was in when it finally launched in 2020.
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The long radio silence
Between 2013 and 2018, the game basically vanished. There were no new trailers. No screenshots. Just "it's coming when it's ready." That phrase became a meme. People started wondering if it was vaporware.
Then E3 2018 happened.
The Microsoft press conference got "hacked" on screen, and we finally saw the first real look at Night City. It looked nothing like the dark, rainy 2013 teaser. It was bright. It was sunny. It was loud. This was the moment the modern era of the game's marketing began, but it was already six years after that first Warsaw conference.
A timeline of the major beats:
- May 30, 2012: Initial announcement (Warsaw).
- October 19, 2012: The title "Cyberpunk 2077" is officially revealed.
- January 10, 2013: The first CGI teaser trailer drops.
- June 10, 2018: The first gameplay trailer at E3.
- June 9, 2019: Keanu Reeves takes the stage (Breathtaking!).
- December 10, 2020: The actual, chaotic launch.
What we can learn from the 2012 announcement
If you’re looking for a lesson in game marketing, this is it. Announcing a game eight years before it’s ready is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you build a legendary level of anticipation. On the other, you create an impossible standard.
By the time the game came out, people had been imagining their own version of Cyberpunk 2077 for nearly a decade. No game can live up to eight years of imaginary features.
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If you're still curious about the game today, it's worth noting that it’s finally in the state it should have been in years ago. With the 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty expansion, the vision from that 2012 stage has mostly been realized. It just took a decade to get there.
If you want to track down that original 2012 energy, go watch the Mike Pondsmith interviews from around that time. He explains why he chose CDPR. He talks about how they actually cared about the "punk" in cyberpunk, not just the "cyber." That's the stuff that actually stuck.
Your next steps: If you’ve never seen it, go find the 2013 teaser trailer on YouTube. Compare the "vibe" of that video to the actual game you play today. It’s a fascinating look at how creative visions shift over a decade of development. Also, check out the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime on Netflix if you want to see how that original 2012 world-building finally translated into other media.