Lawsuit against CD Projekt Red likely for Cyberpunk 2077’S patchy lunch

The troubles for CD Projekt Red, the developers and creators of Cyberpunk 2077, do not see to end. At the onset, the December 10th launch for this much-anticipated game went all haywire, with gamers complaining of heavy bug issues, non-intuitive UI, coupled with low frame rates and an overall underwhelming experience. This resulted in the company receiving a lot of flak from players and reviewers across the globe.

Not willing to compromise on its brand commitments, Sony Corp. was quick to remove the game from its online PlayStation store and offered refunds to customers who had already purchased the game. Not to be left behind, Microsoft on its part, also extended the refund period for the game and issued a performance warning for players when they purchase the game from the Xbox Store.

Rectification measures

Initially CD Projekt Red had offered full refunds to customers on its own behalf, and following an apology, had promised to launch smaller updates to be followed by larger patches in the months to come, and it seems to have walked the talk on this front.

The developer has released its HotFix 1.05 version for both Xbox and PlayStation users. This improvement comes equipped with several much-needed individual machine-specific bug fixes. These include non-player characters (NPC) disappearing, improper geometry mechanics and some gameplay improvements, which should pacify players till large redressal mechanisms aren’t introduced. This version will also be available for PC users, but the developer has not specified a date for the same.

Too little too late?

However, the game’s removal from Sony’s PlayStation store, Xbox’s warning, coupled with refunds being carried out from both these high-profile console makers, seems to have triggered a legal backlash for CD Projekt Red. Lawyers and investors in Warsaw, after analyzing the situation, have come to the conclusion that a class-action lawsuit must be filed against the company. As per the comprehension of some lawyers, CD Projekt Red is involved in a criminal misrepresentation to receive financial benefits.

The Lawyers are claiming that the company was well aware of the game being broken and still went ahead with the launch, which resulted in an instant failure that saw the reputation of the company nose dive, while costing large sums of money for the investors. More so, because the game had been in development for eight years and still had multiple pressing issues, which seems beyond explanation.

Fervent apologies, refund promises and now a new hotfix from the developer; all seem to be efforts gone in vain as the new legality goes beyond quality niggles for the Cyberpunk 2077. The fact that the lawyers deciphered that the developer might have hurried with the launch without a quality check, might have a lingering impact on not only the future of the game, but for the developer in the long run.