Cyberpunk 2077 Lied To Fans Again

After waiting eight years for Cyberpunk 2077, audiences have come to a realization that the game failed to live up to expectations. Despite critics showering the title with praise, gamers — especially those who bought Cyberpunk 2077 for the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 — became furious when the game ran poorly on almost all available platforms. That was only the beginning of problems for the game's developer, as they are now caught in a web of mishaps, and seemingly no amount of leftover goodwill from The Witcher 3 can untangle it.

Thanks to the unrelenting masses of displeased gamers, CD Projekt Red promised refunds, except not really. The company is actually passing refund responsibility off to stores. Bought Cyberpunk 2077 at Best Buy? Bring your game and receipt and hope they can help you. Purchased the game from the Xbox or PlayStation digital storefront? Request a refund through their respective companies. CD Projekt Red will only consider helping you once you exhaust all other options, but only if you email the studio before Dec. 21. Gamers who were already disgruntled are now absolutely livid.

The response to CD Projekt RED's refund news has been fairly negative. Some Twitter users have blasted CD Projekt Red's CEO Adam Kaciński, claiming he lied when he reassured investors Cyberpunk 2077 runs "surprisingly well" on the Xbox One and PS4. Other commenters have also insinuated that CD Projekt Red isn't as sorry as it lets on, primarily because the company recouped development costs on pre-orders alone. Why should a company worry about a few refunds when it already turned a profit?

While most of the negativity stems from annoyed Xbox One and PS4 owners, quite a few PC players are also calling out CD Projekt Red for Cyberpunk 2077's launch state. Although the PC version is more stable, it isn't immune to the occasional hiccuping line of code. Meanwhile, several commenters are less concerned with the game's performance and would rather tear into CD Projekt Red for breaking its no-crunch promise and, more egregiously, "put[ting] a gag order on keys" to prevent reviews from leaking performance problems.

The general response is not universally negative (some gamers are giving CD Projekt Red the benefit of the doubt, since video games launch bugs are par for the course these days), but the company's honeymoon period is undoubtedly over. At this point, who knows if Cyberpunk 2077's Xbox One and PlayStation 4 user Metacritic scores will ever recover?