CD Projekt RED is under fire over Cyberpunk 2077's shoddy PS4 release. The company is facing serious legal trouble as American investors and consumers prepare a class-action lawsuit.
Before we get into CD Projekt RED’s legal statement, you need to know where all this drama started. You must have heard by now, but Cyberpunk 2077's launch did not go over so well.
Cyberpunk 2077: An Unplayable PS4 Game
The PS4 version of Cyberpunk 2077 was just a tad buggy. Well, actually not just a little buggy, the game was so poorly optimized for PS4 that it was eventually taken off the PlayStation Store by Sony. That means you can’t even buy a digital copy of it, and as of this article, and after a quick search for “Cyberpunk 2077” on the PS Store, literally nothing relevant appears.
Cyberpunk 2077 Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Angry Fans and Investors
CD Projekt RED's stock price has plummeted just like the Metacritic score for Cyberpunk 2077on PS4 (54%), so naturally, investors are not happy. Therefore, a class-action lawsuit has been filed and the following issues were raised and quoted below:
- Cyberpunk 2077 was virtually unplayable on the current-generation Xbox or PlayStation systems due to an enormous number of bugs.
- As a result, Sony removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store, and Sony, Microsoft, and CD Projekt would be forced to offer full refunds for the game.
- Consequently, CD Projekt would suffer reputational and pecuniary harm.
- As a result, the defendant’s statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
- READ MORE: Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.07: What to Expect!
We at EarlyGame are no legal experts but we are gaming experts, and Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 was in fact “virtually unplayable” by today’s gaming standards, it was so bad it was funny. The AAA price tag for the game and its unplayability on the PS4 was a huge slap in the face to anyone who pre-ordered it only to receive a bug-riddled game on launch day.
CD Projekt RED’s Legal Statement on Cyberpunk 2077's Lawsuit
The Warsaw-based company is in full firefighter mode as they try to quell the flames of the coming legal firestorm and have thus fired off a statement regarding the lawsuit:
"The complaint does not specify the quantity of damages sought. The Company will undertake vigorous action to defend itself against any such claims."
If only you vigorously tested the PS4 version of your game, then this whole problem could have been avoided. Maybe next time do not lie to fans, restrict streamer access, embargo reviewer gameplay, and then you would not look so guilty. Better to delay your game another year, blame COVID-19, ride out the backlash and memes, and come back with a rock-solid game. This really does seem like a "you reap what you sow" situation and sympathy for the company is hard to find. One could even argue that the company misled fans with false advertising, if this was a car company you would literally be knee-deep in car recalls.
You know how it is, we get it. Gamers overreact, gaming websites clickbait, and gaming companies overhype their games, everyone in the industry is exaggerating. However, there is a line, and it really feels like CD Projekt RED crossed that line.
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