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It's no surprise that CD Projekt Red dropped the ball during the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of the studio, took full responsibility in an apology video; explaining where things went wrong and providing a roadmap for the game.
Besides the backlash from fans and critics, the studio has also been hit with two class-action lawsuits. Investors have made demands for compensation after being misled about the condition of Cyberpunk 2077 before launch. Following these developments, CDPR's stock tanked 50% recently.
Despite all the problems, Cyberpunk 2077 made history by being the biggest digital video game launch in history. A staggering 10.2 million copies of the game were sold worldwide across all platforms in December.
Who dropped the ball on Cyberpunk 2077?
A few days ago, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier had released a detailed report after interviewing over 20 CDPR staff members. The report stated that the development phase had been plagued with technical hiccups, unethical crunch hours, and unrealistic deadlines.
Adam Badowski, Head of Studio for CD Projekt Red, refuted these claims by pointing out that the 20 odd people interviewed did not represent the studio as a whole.
Going Gold and beyond
Recently on Amazon India, IGN India discovered that pirated 'Gold Master' copies of Cyberpunk 2077 were being sold. In simple terms, a Gold Master version of the game is sent for certifications to platforms such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo for verification.The software is scrutinized before it is reproduced and sold commercially.
In October 2020, CD Projekt Red confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 had gone gold, and the game was playable at its current state. However, the investigation report suggested that the game was not ready.
Many questions come to mind with this revelation. If companies are responsible for the final check of the product before mass production and distribution; how did Sony and Microsoft unanimously agree to go ahead with the launch? They should have been fully aware of the game's current condition and its inability to run on old-gen consoles.
Did they know?
Microsoft had a clear cut partnership with CDPR, with Cyberpunk 2077's world premiere trailer dropping during the 2018 E3 conference. Sony, on the other hand, would have likely given the studio a bit of leeway to address the game's issues post-launch.
The studio has enjoyed a certain amount of credibility since the success of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. It gave the likes of Sony and Microsoft a sound reason to put faith in CD Projekt Red; entrusting them with addressing any issues post-launch and delivering a flawless experience across all platforms. In Cyberpunk 2077's case, however, the game was unplayable.
Suffice to say that Sony and Microsoft were aware of the game's state before launch and decided to go ahead with it anyway. It is still unclear why this decision was taken, as both console giants issued a refund notice soon after the launch of Cyberpunk 2077.
The Dystopian Future looks bleak
CDPR has a long way to go in fixing Cyberpunk 2077. Patch 1.1 for the game was recently dropped and was supposed to address a few issues but ended up adding new ones instead.
Patch 1.2 is expected to drop in the coming few weeks, followed by the free DLCs and next-gen update, which will be coming out by the end of this year.
Note: This article reflects the writer's personal opinion and is not the view of Sportskeeda as a whole
