Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red

Released: Dec 10, 2020

Buy now

Current Recommendation

Best value: $35 or less (50% off MSRP)

10-Second Reality Check

Biggest win
Unmatched cyber-noir world design and storytelling, perfected in Patch 2.0.
Biggest issue
Heavy ray tracing performance penalties and static crowd sandbox physics.
Value
A mandatory purchase at $35 or below on sale. Full $70 MSRP is only justified if you have high-end hardware and want the definitive complete package with Phantom Liberty.

Overall: Buy now

Performance
Holds 85-110 fps at 1440p Ultra with DLSS Quality on an RTX 4070 (140-180 fps with Frame Gen). Path Tracing and unoptimized RT reflections cause massive CPU/VRAM hitching.
Stability
Post-Patch 2.12/2.2 builds are rock solid. Crash reports are largely historical, with zero crashes recorded across extended testing on Windows 11.
Monetization
Verified by PCGamingWiki: Zero microtransactions, no battle passes, no paid currency. The single-player expansion Phantom Liberty is the only paid DLC.
DRM
Verified by PCGamingWiki: Free of Denuvo Anti-Tamper. Only standard Steam and GOG client DRM applies.
Controller Support
Full button remapping with native prompt support for both Xbox and PlayStation DualSense controllers, including PC adaptive trigger support.
Steam Deck
ProtonDB Tier: GOLD (2,725 verified community reports). Playable at 30-35 fps on Medium with FSR Quality, but battery life exhausts in ~90 minutes.
Value at $70
At full $70 price, the linear quest design may disappoint cRPG purists expecting complex branching. Below $35 on sale, the sheer scale and quality make it a must-buy.

See how it actually runs on your rig.

High-End PC

Verified

Key Notes

01
Steam Friends Polling Stutter
The PC build aggressively polls the Steamworks Friends API during open-world traversal, inducing heavy CPU frametime spikes. Setting Steam status to 'Invisible/Offline' instantly recovers +10-15 FPS in dense districts.
Evidence: Hardware Telemetry & Community Fix (Retail Build 2.2)
02
Ray Tracing VRAM & Frame Pacing Wall
Enabling Ray Tracing Overdrive or Ultra volumetrics severely penalizes frame pacing and easily exhausts 8GB VRAM buffers. Pure rasterized settings peak safely at 5.8GB.
Evidence: Hardware Telemetry (Build 2.2 | 1080p/1440p Benchmarks)
03
Superficial City Sandbox Physics
NPCs lack deep behavioral routines and emergent physics. Night City is a breathtaking cinematic stage, but lacks dynamic sandbox interactions like GTA V.
Evidence: Steam Community Consensus (Verified reviews with 50h+ playtime)

Buy if

You value deep cinematic storytelling, neon cyber-noir aesthetics, and memorable character relationships
You have a modern PC (RTX 3060/4060 or better) and appreciate visual showcases
You love rich companion storytelling (Panam, Judy, Johnny Silverhand, Solomon Reed)

Think twice if

You expect a dynamic physics sandbox playground with reactive civilian police AI
You want a classic tabletop branching RPG where every dialogue completely alters the world
You are playing on an 8GB VRAM card and expect to max out Ray Tracing without stutters

Recommended settings for Cyberpunk 2077
Setting	Recommended	FPS gain	Visual loss
Steam Friends Status	Invisible / Offline	+10-15% FPS	None (Eliminates CPU polling lag)
Texture Quality	High	+0% (No Compute Cost)	None (Measured 5.8GB Peak VRAM)
Volumetric Fog & Clouds	Low / Off	+15-20% FPS	Minimal atmospheric softening
Crowd Density	Medium	+8-12% FPS	Eliminates CPU thread saturation in markets
Shadows (Cascade & Local)	Medium	+10-15% FPS	Minor edge softening
Screen Space Reflections	Low	+8-10% FPS	Slightly less crisp puddle reflections
Upscaling (DLSS / FSR)	Quality + Frame Gen	+40-60% FPS	Near-native sharpness