In an unprecedented step, Sony shocked the gaming community on Friday by pulling Cyberpunk 2077 from its PlayStation store, and offering refunds to whoever requested for it.
Dubbed as one of the most awaited video games of the decade, Cyberpunk 2077, developed by Polish video game developing company CD Projekt, has caused tremendous outrage among gamers due to a multitude of errors and glitches which many claim make the game unplayable.
Within a week from the launch of the game, CD Projekt's shares plunged by 22%, and around $1.8 billion was wiped out from the company's market capitalisation.
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A Story Of Epic Fail
The game was first announced more than eight years ago by CD Projekt Red (CD Projekt's developer department), who had already built a considerable reputation with The Witcher video game series.
The game is set in Night City - which shows a classic cyberpunk setting. In fiction, cyberpunk is a genre that deals with dystopian future where highly advanced technology is juxtaposed with degrading quality of life and social order.
Following its announcement, CD Projekt Red (CDPR) followed through with a teaser trailer in 2013, along with two official trailers released during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The high-definition videos showed an enigmatic city straight out of the cyberpunk genre, and promised an interactive open-world game with advanced gameplay and mechanics. Also, Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves – who acted in The Matrix film series, also of the cyberpunk genre – was roped into the game.
The hype was set. Cyberpunk 2077 became the most awaited game before its release.
The final launch of the game turned out to be a disaster. The rich and immersive environment of the game was filled with bugs and glitches, and for console players the game just did not work
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Exposed Penises, Dildos And Naked Butts Everywhere
Yes, you heard it right. Out of the myriad complaints made by gamers who got a hold of the game, many spoke of penises and breasts of their characters poking out of clothing. Many complained that their characters would suddenly stand in a T-pose, with their naked buttocks sticking out, while driving vehicles.
While there were some others who complained of finding dildos spawning everywhere in the fictional Night City, where the game is based. CD Projekt admitted it was a bug and is trying to get it fixed.
At other times, the glitches simply made the game unplayable, especially with activities like driving. Reviewers and gamers around the world have complained of unrealistic loading time for visuals, leading them to stare at a blurry screen for minutes, and ultimately crashing the game.
A Generational Gap
Those who managed to run the game with some minor glitches, had some positive things to say about it.
Shantenu Tilwankar, a resident of Navi Mumbai and an avid gamer, managed to run the game on his personal computer, albeit at its lowest graphics settings. "I'm playing it in the lowest settings - it is a very graphically loaded game, but its a ton of fun. There are some minor bugs like dead bodies floating or falling in awkward angles," Tilwankar told BOOM.
The game also runs moderately well in the latest generation consoles like Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, but where it really starts to deteriorate is on last-gen consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
This was an major issue, as the developers had promised that the game would run well on such consoles. In fact, CD Projekt joint-CEO Adam Kaciński said in an investors call last month that the performance of the game was "surprisingly good" on PS4 and Xbox One. Following the launch, Kaciński and other executives had to issue an apology for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles. "We should have paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One," the joint statement read.
For PC gamers like Tilwankar, who could at least run through it without game-crashing glitches, the final result did not fully live up to the hype. "I am not exactly happy with it. They did a bad job after taking so long to release it," he said.
Even billionaire Elon Musk - also an avid gamer - was not too happy with the game. Following its release, Musk posted a screenshot of a Reddit post by a disgruntled gamer who claimed to have been "crying for the last few days" due to the disappointment from the game.
What To Expect Now
In the apology note, CD Projekt executives promised the gaming community that the company will fix all the bugs in a series of updates in the next few months.
For CD Projekt, its not just about satisfying its customers, but rather about saving its own reputation - which it had rightfully gained after some highly successful games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which sold over 30 million copies worldwide, and even led the company signing with Hollywood actor Henry Cavill for a Netflix show. However, despite its fame, Wild Hunt also launched with similar issues of glitches and bugs, which the company then fixed in a series of patches.
Regardless of the negative publicity, Cyberpunk 2077 is not a complete loss for the company. Before the official launch, the game sold around 8 million copies in pre-orders alone, and a day after the launch the company announced that its digital pre-order sales already exceeded the production costs.
Now it remains to be seen if the upcoming bugfixes and updates can deliver the game fans have been waiting for for a better part of the decade.