Publishers and video game studios place a lot of reliance on pre-order numbers. After all, pre-orders serve as a gauge for how well a game might perform in terms of sales. Quarterly financials also take into account pre-order numbers so they are a very important measurement in the gaming industry. Due to this, we have seen an increasing amount of content get locked behind the pre-order wall. That is, exclusive in-game items which are only available for gamers who pre-order games.

As we have all found out one way or another, pre-ordering is not always the wisest thing to do. Pre-order bonuses may be incentivising but recently releases such as Anthem show us just how big the risk is when it comes to pre-ordering. The hotly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 has surely racked up pre-order numbers in the millions already and there might be even more reason to trust CD Projekt Red with your money – if their prowess and proven track record is not enough.

A rumour on Reddit suggests that Cyberpunk 2077 will not lock any in-game items behind the pre-order wall. In a Facebook Messenger chat with the official game page, user Frocharocha posted the following screenshot of his conversation with the developers:

CD Projekt Red state that every single person that buys the game will have access to the same in-game content. Whether you pre-order months ahead of the release or but it 2 years later – everyone gets the same in-game content. I must say this is refreshing to see a big AAA game take this approach as it is very rare in today’s climate.

This does follow the approach the studio took with their last major release, The Witcher 3, which simiarly did not lock consumers out of in-game content based on whether they pre-ordered or not. In fact, The Witcher 3 earned a ton of good will with the launch of 16 free DLCs for everyone. The pre-order bonuses for The Witcher 3 ranged from a keychain to a digital artbook and current Cyberpunk 2077 pre-orders have similar items but it is re-assuring to know there will not be any in-game content pre-order bonuses announced before release.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure story set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour and body modification. You play as V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. You can customize your character’s cyberware, skillset and playstyle, and explore a vast city where the choices you make shape the story and the world around you. The game releases on 16 April 2020 and is currently available to pre-order on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.