CDPR Issues Apology for Cyberpunk 2077’s Poor Performance on Older Consoles

Amid outcry over Cyberpunk 2077‘s performance on last-gen consoles, CD Projekt Red has finally released a statement on the matter (full text at the end of this article). In addition to apologizing for not showing the game on base consoles before it released, they also outlined their plans for future patches, and offered to help unsatisfied customers with getting a refund.

The statement, which opens “Dear gamers,” begins by addressing the decision to not allow console copies to be reviewed before launch:

First of all, we would like to start by apologizing to you for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before it premiered and, in consequence, not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase. We should have payed more attention to making it play better on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

Frankly, it feels disingenuous for them to issue an apology for intentionally misleading consumers. CD Projekt Red CEO Adam KaciÅ„ski told investors that the console performance was “surprisingly good”, and when multiple media outlets picked up the story, no one from CDPR stepped in to correct their boss. Whether the dev team misled KaciÅ„ski about how well the game would perform on last-gen consoles, or if KaciÅ„ski knowingly lied to investors, is unclear. The phrase “Ask forgiveness, not permission” springs to mind.

It’s not as if the console pre-orders were some small minority of copies sold, either. Of the 8 million pre-orders, 41% of those were on console. It’s hard to say exactly how many people are playing on the newest consoles, but some large fraction of those 3 million gamers were essentially sold a product that the creators knew wasn’t finished.

The message continues by promising to “fix bugs and crashes, and improve the overall experience”, which is something that we should already expect of any major release. For future updates and patches, the next one is slated to come out within the next 7 days, with frequent updates “whenever new improvements are ready”. After the holidays, there are plans for two big patches in January and February respectively. The statement also specifically notes in the PS that there will be PC fixes in addition to the work CDPR will be doing to improve console gameplay.

This is great news for people who are still hoping to eventually have their copy of Cyberpunk 2077 running smoothly and relatively bug-free, but for people who don’t want to wait, CDPR is also offering refunds. The company is asking that people first try to refund the game where it was purchased (either in store or online), but has created an email address — hepmerefund@cdprojektred.com — to assist anyone who is having trouble getting their refund. This offer of refund assistance lasts until December 21st, 2020.

All in all, CDPR’s apology is a fairly stock-standard PR move. It would be easier to swallow if we knew exactly how and why the game was released in the state it was, but as it stands, we don’t know who or what to blame. It might have been the fault of the company leadership, the development leads, the investors, or any combination thereof. Game development is a notoriously difficult process, and this isn’t the first huge title to fail to reach the lofty goals that marketing and fans set for it.

What do you think? Can you forgive CDPR for the game being released in the state it’s in? Let us know in the comments!

The full text of CDPR’s statement:

Dear gamers,

First of all, we would like to start by apologizing to you for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before it premiered and, in consequence, not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase. We should have payed more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Second, we will fix bugs and crashes, and improve the overall experience. The first round of updates has just been released and the next one is coming within the next 7 days. Expect more, as we will update frequently whenever new improvements are ready. After the holidays, we’ll continue working — we’ll release two large patch starting with Patch #1 in January. This will be followed by Patch #2 in February. Together these should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles. We will be informing you about the contents of each patch ahead of their release. They won’t make the game on last-gen look like it’s running on a high-spec PC or next-gen console, but it will be closer to that experience than it is now.

Finally, we would always like everyone who buys our games to be satisfied with their purchase. We would appreciate it if you would give us a chance, but if you are not pleased with the game on your console and don’t want to wait for updates, you can opt to refund your copy. For copies purchased digitally, please use the refund system of PSN or Xbox respectively. For boxed versions, please first try to get a refund at the store where you bought the game. Should this not be possible, please contact us at helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com and we will do our best to help you. Starting from today, you can contact us for a week up until December 21st, 2020.

Humbly,

Marcin Iwińksi, Adam Kiciński, Adam Badowski, Michał Nowawowski, Piotr Nielubowicz, Piotr Karwoski

P.S. PC gamers will also be getting regular updates and fixes improving the game.