Cyberpunk 2077 will be upgraded on Xbox Series X for free

Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077
Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077 (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

What you need to know

  • Xbox has confirmed that first-party games will only need to be bought once to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
  • This feature is called Smart Delivery.
  • CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will also receive a free upgrade on Xbox Series X.

Earlier today, Xbox dropped some official specs for the Xbox Series X, including the news that it would feature 12 teraflops of graphics power, using Zen 2 and RDNA 2 technology. The report also shared the confirmation of Smart Delivery, which means that Xbox first-party games like Halo Infinite only need to be bought once and then players will receive the full upgrades on Xbox Series X.

While there's no mention of this technically being required for third-party companies, one major player has already jumped in with support. CD Projekt Red has confirmed on Twitter that the highly-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a free upgrade on Xbox Series X. Whenever the upgrade arrives, players on Xbox will not have to pay anything extra to play the game with what will presumably be features like a higher resolution and a better framerate.

It'll be interesting to see what other third-party companies jump in on this, as well as whether or not Microsoft's main console competitor Sony does anything similar with the PlayStation 5. Given how similar Xbox One X and PS4 Pro patches work, it certainly seems likely there will be near-identical approaches. Cyberpunk 2077 is currently scheduled to release on September 17, 2020, while the Xbox Series X will release sometime in Holiday 2020.

Related: Cyberpunk 2077 features acid rain and other deadly environmental challenges

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Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.