The next-gen upgrade for Cyberpunk 2077 was released yesterday alongside the massive and impressive Patch 1.5. With this update came some new changes for crowd behavior that aims to make them more interesting and a little less static.
Crowds on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Stadia, and PC will now react more realistically to your actions. NPCs will now fight back, run away, or even begin fighting each other. There were also some improvements made to people driving around near you, including "panic driving." All of this is apparently a bit too advanced for the likes of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
In speaking with IGN, global PR director Radek Grabowski for CD Projekt Red says that the new AI was just too demanding on the older hardware.
"I can say that with the changes and additions being made via updates to Cyberpunk 2077’s core, the game, which was already technically complex, is becoming more and more so. This growing complexity requires more resources — such as faster internal storage, or more memory of which there is typically a finite amount on consoles. With this in mind, we’ve made the decision to introduce some features only in the next-gen versions when it comes to consoles, in order to keep targeting the delivery of the most optimal and stable gameplay experience on base PlayStation 4 and Xbox One hardware."
