CDPR bags first award for Cyberpunk 2077 years after game’s rocky release

Cyberpunk 2077 has won its first post-launch award more than two years after the game was originally released in December 2020. To close this past year, CD Projekt Red claimed the “Labor of Love” award from the Steam Awards for 2022 for its continued service and support of Cyberpunk 2077.

The Labor of Love award is given to the developer that best continues “to nurture and support their creation” over the year, via adding new content, regularly making updates, and keeping on top of bugs and other issues. This year, Cyberpunk 2077 beat out Dota 2, Project Zomboid, Deep Rock Galactic, and No Man’s Sky. Previous winners of the award include GTA V, CS:GO, Warframe, and Terraria.

When Cyberpunk 2077 was originally launched at the end of 2020, the release was marred by a wave of technical issues and game-breaking bugs, and the game ran even worse on consoles. Players were granted refunds, the game was removed from the Sony online store for a period of six months, and CDPR’s release of the title prior to it being ready led to a serious drop in company stock value and even a lawsuit.

The game claimed a handful of awards at Gamescom 2020, including Best PC Game, Best RPG, and Best of Gamescom, but this took place at the end of August of that year, months before the game actually released.

While fixes and improvements began in 2021, the game’s resurgence really took off in 2022. This was due to quick and responsive updates that fixed serious and minor issues, consistent updates that added new content, and renewed interest in the game and its world generated by the critically acclaimed Netflix animated series, Edgerunners.

Across the game’s various store platforms, Cyberpunk 2077 was also on sale for a good portion of the entire year, lowering a barrier for players who were hesitant to get it at release, or for players who were worried about launch issues and wanted to wait. To celebrate the Labor of Love award, it is back on sale for 50 percent off on Steam until 12pm CT on Jan. 5.

Over 2022, Cyberpunk 2077’s review rating on Steam has increased dramatically. It’s now listed as “mostly positive” across all reviews and its most recent reviews have been “very positive.”

CDPR is currently working on both the Phantom Liberty expansion and an eventual sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 tentatively titled Project Orion. But that is currently a long way away.