CDPR Apologizes For Hiding Cyberpunk 2077’s Horrible Last-Gen Performance

Cyberpunk

Tech With Xeexhxn

CD Projekt Red has come under intense fire for the state of release of Cyberpunk 2077 across all platforms. While the game performs better on PC and higher end consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X, it’s still riddled with bugs, and as you move down the food chain into last generation, PS4 and Xbox One variants, the game can be close to borderline unplayable.

Now they’re apologizing, and what they’re apologizing for is kind of wild.

CDPR has said they’re sorry for effectively hiding the state of Cyberpunk 2077 on last-gen consoles in a tweet this morning:

The apology is not just for the game being in that state, but for not ever showing the game on base consoles ahead of launch. Here’s the relevant passage:

“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 paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.”

It goes deeper than this, however. CDPR purposefully hid the state Cyberpunk was in on all consoles by not giving reviewers anything but PC review codes, and making them sign ironclad NDAs where they couldn’t talk about any bugs they were experiencing at all until the embargo was up, and even then, they were not allowed to show footage of their own gameplay until after those reviews went up.

Cyberpunk on console

CDPR

And that’s not the end of it, as CDPR apparently just…flat out lied about the game’s performance on last gen consoles.

Here’s this from GamesRadar just over two weeks ago:

“Speaking earlier this week on Wednesday (and transcribed by Seeking Alpha), Kaciński said that Cyberpunk 2077’s performance on the base PS4 and Xbox One consoles is “surprisingly good, I would say, for such a huge world.” The CEO went on to say that although the performance on these base consoles is lower than their “pro” counterparts (the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X), it’s still surprisingly good.”

I don’t think anyone would call performance on any of those consoles, PS4, Pro, Xbox One or One X “surprisingly good,” and yet this was the only impression the 160 million people who own last gen consoles had of the game running on those consoles before launch. That’s just plain deceptive, and especially so when combined with the PC-only review copy situation.

The rest of the message goes on to detail both that fixes are coming with patches in January and December which should focus on console performance specifically, and that CDPR will help you get refunds if you want them now. But only for a week, as apparently their help ends on December 21. And they say they “would appreciate it if you gave us a chance.” I mean, wow.

Cyberpunk 2077 marketing material

CDPR

What consequences this truly has for CDPR in the long run is unclear. The game’s 8 million pre-orders, based on incomplete information, were already enough to make up the entire development cost of the game. And while the game and studio are a meme right now in some circles because of the lies told and goofy bugs infecting the game, CDPR still has a long list of staunch defenders, many of which can be found in the comment section of that tweet reassuring them that everything is okay.

This is the conflict I face internally. I fundamentally am very much enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 despite its issues, and yet CDPR’s behavior here is absolutely indefensible and inexcusable. And the wording of this apology is just…irritating, and “transparency” here amounts to admitting to a cover-up after the fact and hundreds of millions in sales were already made. Not acceptable.

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