Cyberpunk 2077 Refunds: CD Projekt Red, Sony & Microsoft Respond

Sony has removed “Cyberpunk 2077,” a highly anticipated game released recently, from its PlayStation Store in response to widespread customer complaints regarding performance problems and numerous bugs.

The company stated that it will provide complete refunds to all purchasers of CD Projekt Red’s game through the PlayStation Store – however, customers must initiate the refund request. Last week, CD Projekt Red reported that “Cyberpunk 2077” had garnered over 8 million pre-orders. The company further announced on Friday that revenue generated from digital pre-sales alone surpassed the total costs associated with the game’s production, marketing, and promotion.

Updated at 18:25 GMT on Friday, December 18: Microsoft has also recognized that certain players using “older consoles” are experiencing unsatisfactory gameplay with “Cyberpunk 2077” and is extending refund eligibility to those who bought the game from the Xbox Store – upon request. Currently, “Cyberpunk 2077” remains available on the Xbox Store, indicating Microsoft is not removing the title from its marketplace.

Updated at 19:25 GMT: CD Projekt Red has declared its intention to issue refunds to customers who acquired either a physical or digital copy of “Cyberpunk 2077” through retail channels. The company affirmed it will cover these costs independently if necessary, as communicated in a social media post. BestBuy is also processing refunds for customers. Our initial report is presented below.

Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at Niko Partners, characterized the delisting of a highly awaited game as an unusual occurrence within the gaming sector. “We haven’t previously witnessed a situation quite like this in the industry. The closest parallel is Warner Bros.’ removal of ‘Batman Arkham Knight’ from PC due to technical difficulties, but that decision originated from the publisher itself. This instance involves the platform provider delisting the game.”

He suggested that CD Projekt Red could have avoided the current predicament by postponing the release of “Cyberpunk 2077” for an additional year. “Prior to its launch, ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ was projected to sell over 30 million copies. However, the game’s current condition and CDPR’s subsequent handling of the situation have led to this outcome.”

CD Projekt Red launched “Cyberpunk 2077,” a project initially revealed seven years ago, on December 10 after several postponements. At the time of publication, CD Projekt Red’s stock value had decreased by more than 13%.

Sony Interactive Entertainment stated that it “is committed to maintaining a high standard of customer satisfaction, and will therefore commence offering full refunds to all players who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via the PlayStation Store and are requesting a refund.” The “Cyberpunk 2077” game also suffers from bugs and other technical issues on other gaming platforms.

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Earlier this week, CD Projekt Red conceded that greater emphasis should have been placed on optimizing the game’s performance on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The company also announced it would provide refunds to dissatisfied customers, but numerous users reported difficulties in receiving their refunds.

“Many anticipated these issues for several months,” noted Niko Partners’ Ahmad. “From the numerous delays leading up to the game’s release, to developers and quality assurance testers identifying problems, to CDPR deliberately concealing or removing last-generation footage (as they acknowledged), and more. Several valuable lessons can be drawn from this experience.”

“A key takeaway is the need for improvements in management and production workflows. Continuous, prolonged periods of intense work do not necessarily result in a superior game. They can negatively affect both the well-being of developers and the quality of the final product. This situation will also have broader implications for industry standards concerning marketing, certification, and refund policies at both the publisher and platform holder levels. It will be interesting to observe how CDPR responds and attempts to restore the goodwill they cultivated over many years,” he concluded.

The headline and article have been updated to incorporate the latest information.