eli5: For games that are in development for long stretches of time (like cyberpunk – 8yrs), how do developers deal with advancing technology?

Question

Or are games like Cyberpunk or Red Dead just made with early-mid 2010’s tech?

Edit: to clarify, development didn’t actually start 8 years ago, but rather the game was announced 8 years ago. Thanks to the commenters for letting me know!

In: Technology

Answer 1

Maintaining any piece of software over a longer period of time can be like owning a car. Imagine if your car was all one piece, and any time something went wrong, you had to replace your entire vehicle. It would quickly be unsustainable.

Instead, car manufacturers have learned they can split the car into many pieces (engine, battery, tires, etc.). If one of the parts required fixing or becomes out of date, it is hopefully simple and less expensive to replace it with the latest version of that part.