CD Projekt Red has finally admitted that it ‘’ignored’’ signs that Cyberpunk 2077 was not ready for launch in PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The studio admittedly focused more on “PC and next-gen performance rather than current-gen”. But Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t have a native version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X and is currently running via backward compatibility.
CD Projekt Red co-CEO Adam Kiciński noted on an investor call on Monday, “[The] initial feedback from those playing it on the oldest last-gen consoles is way below our expectations” “After three delays, we as the Management Board were too focused on releasing the game. We underestimated the scale and complexity of the issues; we ignored the signals about the need for additional time to refine the game on the base last-gen consoles. It was the wrong approach and against our business philosophy. On top of that, during the campaign, we showed the game mostly on PCs.”
“It is more about us looking […] at the PC and next-gen performance rather than current-gen. We definitely did not spend enough time looking at that,” CD Projekt Red’s SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski added.
CD Projekt Red also does not any refund policy set up with Sony or Microsoft to the dismay of some PS4 owners who are getting their refund requests rejected,
Four days after the launch of the game, CD Projekt Red apologised for tricking PS4 and Xbox owners with the game and promised refunds are in place. The developer even set up an email to obtain requests for refunds and assured that they would be fulfilled.
However, that turned out to be false as CD Projekt Red has no special arrangement with Sony or Microsoft. This means that the gamers are now at the mercy of the existing policies.
Since June last year, Cyberpunk 2077 founders and developers have been lying and making false claims about the delays claiming it was so that they could, “make it as good as it can be on the current generation.” The same claim was repeated in November too.
About the refunds, “Despite several articles I’ve seen that things are being set up just for us, it’s actually not true – these policies are in place and have always been in place; they’re not offered specifically for us,” Nowakowski said. “Anyone who has purchased any title on the PlayStation Network or the Microsoft storefront can ask for a refund, and if it’s made within certain boundaries, usually related to time, usage and so on, can ask for that refund. Our procedure here with Microsoft and Sony is not different than with any other title released on any of those storefronts.”
Microsoft offers a 14-day refund policy and includes an “extenuating circumstances” clause and Sony typically doesn’t offer refunds once you’ve downloaded or streamed a game.
While some gamers are complaining on twitter about not getting refunds, some on Reddit are claiming to have gotten refunds within 24 hours.
Gamers only have to wait to see what happens.
