sasko recalled the controversial launch in 2020, saying the negative response to the base game was "devastating" for the team, especially the developers who joined CD Projekt Red after the success of The Witcher 3. "I know what success feels like because I've released games that were very popular," Sasko said in the interview. "But there are some members of the team who have never experienced that feeling...The worst part is seeing team members overwhelmed by the negative reaction...Overall, we endured it very badly." He believes that the production of "Shadows of the Past" was The team's "collective redemption" solves many problems through this process.
sasko also reviewed the repair process, saying that the 1.2 and 1.3 patches were "stepping stones" that, although many problems were fixed, did not significantly improve the public image. The 1.5 version update is an important step on the road to game recovery, but player feedback still makes sasko feel like a "consolation prize", as if the team "finished seventh place in the marathon." What really turned things around was the version 1.6 update released simultaneously with the Netflix anime series "Cyberpunk: Edgewalker", which "changed the situation." Sasko said anime draws audiences into the universe more than games do, and that combined with previous updates, Edgewalker gave the team "extra motivation" to believe "we can really fix this."