Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the biggest game launches in history, breaking all sorts of preorder records. Prior to this project, the developer & publisher behind Cyberpunk 2077, CD Project Red (CDPR), had plenty of experience under it’s belt, with a legitimate pro-consumer reputation to go with it.
Until Now.
Despite a number of amusing and not so amusing bugs in its PC and current generation console releases, it is a really fun game.
Sadly, the last gen consoles were left out to dry.
The below image is something you would see on the regular if you were to play the game on PS4 or Xbox One (if the game doesn’t crash on you)
This has spawned a large amount of legitimate backlash from the consumers. The situation with PS4 and Xbox One release is bad enough that Sony has had to create a separate PSN page for Cyberpunk 2077 refunds
What has caused this mess?
As far as I can tell, it was simply the higher ups in the CDPR wanting the game out ASAP, to make their $, € and £ and with the number of delays the release of Cyberpunk had already seen, another one was not an option.
A costly mistake this.
According to the report from Bloomberg, CD Project Red founders have taken a financial hit to tune of 1 BILLION dollars.
While the CDPR has issued an apology, the damage to their previously stellar reputation is done.
What kind of a lesson could other publishers take away from this?
If the product is not ready for launch, DO NOT RELEASE IT. Give your developers the time to take the project to where THEY are satisfied with the quality.
Please stop looking at video game development as purely a business where short term gains outweigh the long term.
Great IPs, that have had enough time to be developed right, will make fans out of consumers and loyal fans create more revenue through word of mouth and social media hype.
Thankfully, I got my Cyberpunk copy for PC and I shall now get back to enjoying the amazing stories told within.
The Coldshift 