Gaming history is messy. Honestly, if you were online in December 2020, you remember the chaos. It wasn't just a launch; it was a digital meltdown. One specific pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 T-posing NPC became the face of a billion-dollar disaster. It was everywhere. You couldn't scroll Twitter or Reddit without seeing a grainy screenshot of a character standing stiffly on top of a car while Night City literally fell apart in the background. It was hilarious. It was also heartbreaking for anyone who’d waited eight years for the "next generation" of RPGs.
That single image did more damage to CD Projekt Red’s reputation than any bad review ever could. Why? Because pictures don't lie, even when marketing campaigns do.
The Story Behind the Infamous Pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 T-Pose
We need to talk about why that image stuck. In game development, a "T-pose" is basically the default state for a 3D model. It’s the skeleton's neutral position before the animations kick in. When you saw that pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 character looking like a wooden cross, you weren't just seeing a bug. You were seeing the game's engine failing to load its basic logic. It was a peek behind the curtain that nobody was supposed to see.
The most famous version featured a character on a motorcycle. They were T-posing through the roof of the bike, pants often missing due to a separate asset-loading glitch. It was the perfect storm of technical failure. CD Projekt Red had promised "the most immersive world to date," but what they delivered—at least on PS4 and Xbox One—was a slide show of broken dreams.
The screenshot went viral because it encapsulated the gap between expectation and reality. You have this neon-soaked, beautiful aesthetic, and right in the middle of it, a total breakdown of reality. It’s jarring. It’s also why Google Discover fed these images to millions of people who didn't even play video games. It was the "Schadenfreude" of the year.
Why the Hardware Gap Made It Worse
The game was developed during a weird transition. The developers were aiming for the moon with high-end PCs and the then-upcoming PS5/Xbox Series X. But they still had to make it run on the "base" consoles from 2013. It didn't work.
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If you look at a pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 glitch from a high-end PC, it usually looks like a funny physics hiccup. On a PS4? It looks like a cry for help. The CPU simply couldn't stream the assets fast enough. This led to "low-poly" NPCs that looked like they belonged in a Nintendo 64 game. People started calling it "Cyberpunk 1997." The memes were relentless.
It Wasn't Just the T-Posing
The "T-pose" pic is the legend, but the gallery of errors was vast. We saw cars flying into the ground. We saw tiny trees flickering through walls. My personal favorite was the "explosive" physics where walking into a trash can could launch V across the map.
These images served as a warning. Before 2020, "Day One Patches" were expected, but they weren't expected to be 50GB rescue missions. This pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 mess changed how we buy games. It killed the "pre-order" hype for a lot of people. It made us cynical. And honestly, maybe that was a good thing.
The Technical Reality of RedEngine
CD Projekt Red used their proprietary RedEngine 4. It was powerful but clearly not ready for the verticality of Night City. When you see a screenshot of a car stuck inside a building, that's a collision detection failure. The engine is trying to calculate where an object should be, but because the frame rate is dropping to 15 FPS, the math gets "lazy."
- Asset Streaming: The game tries to load textures based on where you look.
- Memory Leaks: The longer you played, the more the "garbage collection" failed.
- AI Pathfinding: NPCs would walk in circles or vanish if you turned your back.
These aren't just "bugs." They are fundamental architectural issues that took years to fix.
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The Redemption Arc and Modern Screenshots
Fast forward to today. If you search for a pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 character now, things look very different. The "Phantom Liberty" expansion and the 2.1 update basically rebuilt the game from the studs up. The T-poses are gone. The lighting—especially with Path Tracing—is genuinely the best in the industry.
It’s a weird feeling. You look at a screenshot from 2020 and you feel a sense of pity. You look at a screenshot from 2024, and it’s pure digital art. The game finally matches the trailers. But the internet never forgets. That original pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 failure is archived in the Library of Congress of memes. It serves as a permanent reminder of what happens when corporate deadlines clash with creative reality.
Did They Actually Fix It?
Yes. Mostly. If you’re playing on a PS5 or a modern PC, the game is stable. The "Night City Wire" promises have largely been kept. They added the police chases. They fixed the perk system. They made the city feel alive instead of like a hollow movie set.
But even now, you can find a stray glitch. In a game this big, code is going to break. The difference is that now, a glitch is a funny anomaly. In 2020, the glitch was the game.
What This Means for Future RPGs
The industry learned a hard lesson from that one pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 disaster. Look at the marketing for Starfield or the next Witcher game. Developers are much more careful about showing "in-engine" footage versus "cinematic" trailers. Nobody wants to be the next T-pose meme.
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The T-pose screenshot became a metric for quality. Whenever a new game looks janky, people immediately compare it to the Cyberpunk launch. It became the "Gold Standard" for a bad release. That's a heavy mantle to carry.
How to Take Better Screenshots in Night City Now
If you want to move past the memes and actually use the (now excellent) Photo Mode, here’s what actually matters:
- Field of View (FOV): Drop it down to 15-20 for portraits. It creates a natural "bokeh" effect that hides background repetition.
- Exposure: Night City is bright. Pull the exposure down to let the neon pop against the shadows.
- Path Tracing: If your GPU can handle it, turn it on just for the photo. It calculates light bounces in real-time. It’s the difference between a "game" look and a "movie" look.
Actionable Steps for the Modern Gamer
If you're still seeing those old glitchy images and wondering if the game is worth it, here is how to approach it in the current year.
- Check Your Hardware: Do not play this on a base PS4 or Xbox One. Just don't. It’s technically "playable," but it lacks the density and lighting that makes the game special. It's like watching a 4K movie on an old black-and-white TV.
- Update to 2.0+: Ensure you have the latest version. The game changed fundamentally in 2023. The entire skill tree was deleted and replaced.
- Look for "Phantom Liberty": This isn't just DLC; it's a narrative overhaul. It features Idris Elba and some of the best writing in gaming history.
- Ignore the 2020 Reviews: They are functionally useless now. Read reviews from late 2023 or 2024 to get an accurate picture of what you're buying.
The legacy of that one pic of a Cyberpunk 2077 glitch is complicated. It represents a failure of management, but also a catalyst for change. It forced the industry to have a conversation about "crunch" and deceptive marketing. It also set the stage for one of the greatest "comeback" stories in entertainment.
When you see that T-pose meme today, don't just laugh. See it as a tombstone for an old way of doing things. Night City is finally open for business, and it actually works this time.
Next Steps for Players:
If you're jumping back in, start a fresh save. The 2.0 changes are so deep that trying to use an old save file from 2021 will likely break your character's progression. Go to the "Dogtown" area as soon as it unlocks—it's where the engine truly shines and where you'll get the best screenshots of your own journey.