Disastrous “Cyberpunk 2077” Debut Leads To Finger Pointing

It’s no secret that the launch of CD Projekt Red’s highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 has not exactly been a smooth one. A trailer released at the beginning of the month had buzz surrounding the game at a fever pitch, but that excitement has quickly faded. Sony has recently pulled the game from its PlayStation 4 storefront, and Microsoft has posted a warning on the game’s digital listing about the numerous “performance issues” that users have been facing since its launch on December 10th. Both console makers have pledged to refund any dissatisfied gamers who have purchased the game, and with PS4 and Xbox One user scores on Metacritic sitting at 3.2 and 4.4 respectively, it’s safe to say that many have already taken them up on that offer.

As this maelstrom of negative attention continues to swirl, CD Projekt Red developers and management find themselves scrambling to explain where it all went wrong, especially in light of the company’s stock price plunging by 12% despite selling well on both console and PC. The company held a virtual meeting on Thursday, apparently for management to clear the air surrounding the game’s troubled release, but according to a report from Bloomberg News, that message did not go over well with its frustrated staff.

Although CDPR’s board promised to “take responsibility” for overpromising about the state of the game’s development, Bloomberg reports that many employees were frustrated with “vague and noncommital” responses from the company’s management. Even with multiple delays, CDPR staff were still required to put in significant overtime to complete the game, and management’s promises “to improve production practices in the future” rang hollow with many in the meeting. One employee even questioned whether “it was hypocritical to make a game about corporate exploitation while expecting their employees to work overtime.”

Other members of the development staff reportedly expressed frustration that expectations for the game “were always unrealistic” given the amount of work required to get the game completed in time for its release. Another questioned how the company could state that the game was “complete and playable” early in the year when that arguably isn’t even true now after many more months of crunch. After CDPR hid current-gen builds of the game while hyping its next-gen and PC versions in the lead-up to release, questions about the company’s commitment to transparency with its employees and fans continue to linger, as evidenced by some of the fiery exchanges reported from the company’s post-launch meeting.

It’s easy to understand the frustration from developers who were put in an unenviable position by a company promising more than it could deliver and pressuring its staff to take on unhealthy work habits just to get the game into a releasable state. It has to sting knowing your reputation can take such a major hit for releasing an obviously unfinished game when those decisions were completely out of your hands.

What do you make of the developers’ response to the situation? Have you picked up Cyberpunk 2077 yet? Were you frustrated or disappointed by its release? Let us know in the comments below!