Cyberpunk 2077 Staff Ask CD Projekt Red Tough Questions Following Disastrous Launch - Report
One CD Projekt Red employee drew a line between Cyberpunk 2077's themes and the mandatory crunch period during development.
Staff at CD Projekt Red are asking upper management and publisher CD Projekt SA questions about why Cyberpunk 2077 released in such a poor state, according to a Bloomberg report.
During an internal meeting this week, CD Projekt Red developers posed blunt and pointed questions to the board of directors about the company's reputation, Cyberpunk 2077's unrealistic deadlines, and the mandatory crunch and numerous delays before its release.
Some staff asked why the board marketed that the game was "complete and playable" earlier this year when that evidently wasn't true. Other CD Projekt Red employees thought it ironic that the developer was making a game about corporate exploitation while imposing crunch periods. When asked specifically about crunch during this week's staff meeting, the board said that plans to improve production are set to be implemented in the future, but there was no clarification on what that meant. The other questions were either dodged or given vague answers.
According to Bloomberg, a CD Projekt spokesperson said the company wouldn't comment on discussions about internal meetings.
The meeting took place not long before Sony pulled the game from the PlayStation Store and began offering refunds due to its performance on PlayStation 4. The game is still available on the Microsoft store, though Xbox players can request a full refund. There is also a warning message available on the page. Additionally, CD Projekt Red is itself offering refunds for players who can't receive one from their retailer.
This all comes as CD Projekt Red admitted it didn't devote enough resources to ensuring Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was optimized and playable. The debacle has resulted in the founders of the studio losing about $1 billion in wealth as of Tuesday. It appears a class-action lawsuit could also be on the way, with law firms reportedly investigating whether CD Projekt misled investors on the game's quality. At least two firms are looking into the matter.
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