Cyberpunk 2077 guide: How to improve the visuals on Xbox and PS4 consoles
It’s not entirely hopeless for Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles.
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It’s been a long wait, butCyberpunk 2077is actually real, and people all over the world are exploring Night City in CD Projekt RED’s most ambitious title ever. OurCyberpunk 2077 reviewgives this open-world sci-fi RPG a good shot at being the best game ever made on PC, but, unfortunately, the story isn’t as clean-cut on consoles like theXbox One and PS4. Cyberpunk 2077 suffers from a plethora of bugs and glitches, but the issues are particularly nasty on consoles. Besides significant performance issues, Cyberpunk 2077’s console visuals leave a lot to be desired.
Players aren’t completely helpless, however, as there are ways to make Cyberpunk 2077 look and run a bit better with a few in-game settings, and a future plan from CDPR that should hopefully improve the situation as a whole. Here’s our guide to enhancing Cyberpunk 2077’s visuals on Xbox and PS4 consoles.
The standard for next-gen.
Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest project from CD Projekt Red, the developers behind the Witcher 3. To follow up the game that defined a generation of gaming, Cyberpunk 2077 needed to be huge, ambitious, and captivating.
How are Cyberpunk 2077’s visuals on consoles?
Since launch, players have complained of abysmal performance, an absurd number of aggressive bugs and glitches (even more than next-gen consoles and PC, or our updated list ofknown issues and bugs in Cyberpunk 2077), and generally lackluster visuals, resolution, and texture quality.
Unfortunately, a lot of these reports are more-or-less true. While the exact problems aren’t the same across the board, the visual quality and overall experience of Cyberpunk 2077 is low enough on base consoles thatCD Projekt RED has admitted the game wasn’t ready for consolesand isoffering refunds.
The company has already begun patching the game with numerous bug fixes, like the recent1.04 hotfix update. CDPR also has plans to release"large" patches in January and Februaryto hopefully sort out the numerous issues consoles have playing this game, but nothing has massively improved yet.
With all that being said, there are things players can do to improve Cyberpunk 2077’s visuals and performance on consoles, even if it’s just by a little bit. This won’t be an immediate cure-all for everyone (it genuinely just depends onhowbad Cyberpunk 2077 is for you and what hardware you’re using), but it can still have an immediately noticeable effect on your gameplay and experience.
How can I improve Cyberpunk 2077’s visuals on consoles?
There are a handful of graphics settings in Cyberpunk 2077 that players can use to possibly improve Cyberpunk 2077’s console visuals, like turning off certain effects or filters. If you’re playing on an HDR-compatible TV, you can also tinker with Cyberpunk 2077’s HDR settings. Finally, those playing on next-gen consoles like theXbox Series XandXbox Series Slikely already have a perfectly acceptable playing experience for Cyberpunk 2077, but you do have one more setting available to you.
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Note: All the images in this article from this point on were taken on an Xbox Series X. Cyberpunk 2077 may look or be affected by these changes differently on your console.
Graphics settings
The primary way to improve Cyberpunk 2077’s console visuals is with the handful of graphics settings offered by the game. None of these settings get as in-depth as you can be on PC, but there are still ways to clean Cyberpunk 2077’s visuals up and hopefully improve your gaming experience.
HDR settings
If you’re playing on a console that supports HDR and have an HDR-compatible TV, you can squeeze better contrast and brighter visuals out of Cyberpunk 2077. However, things don’t always look perfect straight out of the box, so Cyberpunk 2077 lets you tweak your HDR settings to your liking.
To edit your HDR settings in Cyberpunk 2077, follow these steps:
Xbox Series X|S
If you’re playing on anXbox Series XorXbox Series S, you already have the best possible console experience for Cyberpunk 2077. Furthermore, anext-gen upgradeis planned for 2021 to properly optimize Cyberpunk 2077 for the latest console hardware. That being said, those who are already playing on next-gen consoles (including the PS5) have an extra setting to tweak.
The results are an improvement — sort of
Source: Windows Central
I’ll be the first to say that I’m in the minority of console gamers: I have an Xbox Series X. On next-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X|S and PS5, Cyberpunk 2077 is, for the most part, a fantastic experience (minus the bugs). This is even while running in backwards compatibility mode; the game is able to just throw more power at its visual and performance problems.
However, even with the “best console experience,” I can still improve Cyberpunk 2077’s console visuals using these settings. There is a difference, even while standing completely still in a room with a single window.
The effects are even more noticeable when in movement. Things appear more visually stable and the game tends to look more crisp overall. While this is unlikely to fixallof your problems with Cyberpunk 2077’s console visuals, especially if you’re playing on a base Xbox One or PS4, it does make Cyberpunk 2077 more enjoyable until CDPR (hopefully) fixes the game in full.
Whether you’re playing on PC or console, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a landmark achievement in video games just for the sheer scope and ambition of the world, and it has the merchandise to back it up. Decorate your home, add to your collection, or find the perfect gift for friends and families with theBest Cyberpunk 2077 Merch.
The standard for next-gen.
Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest project from CD Projekt Red, the developers behind the Witcher 3. To follow up the game that defined a generation of gaming, Cyberpunk 2077 needed to be huge, ambitious, and captivating.
Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
