DRM Blamed For Cyberpunk 2077 PC Performance Issues

The PC review build of Cyberpunk 2077 features a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system which is known to impact performance.

Cyberpunk 2077 apparently suffers from severe performance issues on PC which have been highlighted through reviewers playing a near-final build of the game.

Taking to Twitter earlier today, GamersNexus stated that the PC review build of Cyberpunk 2077 features a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system which is known to impact performance. This was included by CD Projekt Red on purpose to prevent leaks from reviewers or streamers. The final version of the game though will not have any DRM at release and which should boost performance.

CD Projekt Red is also said to have issued this DRM-related warning to all reviewers beforehand. The developer actually expects Cyberpunk 2077 to run much better on PC at release.

Based on benchmarks conducted on the review build, even a mighty Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 runs between 30 and 40 frames per second at 4K resolution on ultra settings. That too without ray tracing. Enabling the cumbersome lighting technique drops the frame-rate further down to between 20 and 30 frames per second.

In addition to the removal of DRM from the PC version at release, Cyberpunk 2077 will be receiving a day-one update weighing in around 60GB. That update is expected to address both performance issues as well as a number of bugs in the game. Nvidia and AMD are also expected to release new drivers to further boost performance rates on PC.

For the record, CD Projekt Red states that a GeForce RTX 3080 is fully capable of running Cyberpunk 2077 on ultra settings with ray tracing enabled at 4K. The updated system requirements though refrain from mentioning the targeted frame-rate, which so far was being assumed to be the standard 60 frames per second.

Saqib is a managing editor at segmentnext.com who has halted regime changes, curbed demonic invasions, and averted at least one cosmic omnicide from the confines of his gaming chair. When not whipping his writers into ...