Cyberpunk 2077 released on December 10 for PC, Stadia, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Owners of last-gen copies of the game could also play it on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility.
When it launched, the game received mostly positive reviews from critics . However, issues with the game began popping up, including a serious one that caused seizures for gamers with epilepsy .
Recently, much of the discussion has centered around the base PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game. Unlike its PC version, the last-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077 run quite poorly.
NEWS
In a post on its website today, CD Projekt Red, the developer and publisher of Cyberpunk 2077 , apologized for the state of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game and for not fully showing those versions before they released.
“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.”
The developer then confirmed its plans to update Cyberpunk 2077 in the next week, and it promises “two large patches,” with one in January and the other in February 2021. CD Projekt Red says that, “ Together theses should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles.”
The developer ends the post by saying those who purchased the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game can choose to refund their purchases if they wish. Digital owners can refund through the PSN or through Xbox, while owners of physical copies can request a refund through retail stores. If that doesn’t work, CD Projekt Red says that owners can contact the developer directly, saying “we will do our best to help you.”
The full statement can be read below:
"Dear gamers,
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.
Second, we will fix bugs and crashes, and improve the overall experience. The first round of updates has just been released and the next one is coming within the next 7 days. Expect more, as we will update frequently whenever new improvements are ready. After the holidays, we’ll continue working — we’ll release two large patches starting with Patch #1 in January. This will be followed by Patch #2 in February. Together these should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles. We will be informing you about the contents of each patch ahead of their release. They won’t make the game on last-gen look like it’s running on a high-spec PC or next-gen console, but it will be closer to that experience than it is now.
Finally, we would always like everyone who buys our games to be satisfied with their purchase. We would appreciate it if you would give us a chance, but if you are not pleased with the game on your console and don’t want to wait for updates, you can opt to refund your copy. For copies purchased digitally, please use the refund system of PSN or Xbox respectively. For boxed versions, please first try to get a refund at the store where you bought the game. Should this not be possible, please contact us at [email protected] and we will do our best to help you. Starting from today, you can contact us for a week up until December 21st, 2020.
Humbly
Marcin Iwiński, Adam Kiciński, Adam Badowski, Michał Nowakowski, Piotr Nielubowicz, Piotr Karwowski
P.S. PC gamers will also be getting regular updates and fixes improving the game."
WHAT THIS MEANS
This post indicates the incredibly fragile state of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk 2077 . In its technical analysis of the game running on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro, Digital Foundry found that the game ran quite poorly compared to its PC version. Frame rates were sporadic, sometimes even dropping to below 20 frames per second.
With such poor performance on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, fans are clamoring for full-fledged PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 . As of now, CD Projekt Red hasn’t announced a release date for those versions. Those consoles do improve the experience via backwards compatibility, according to Digital Foundry , but those versions still don’t come close to the PC version of the game.
There has been some discussion about CD Projekt Red’s decision to only give out review copies of the PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 . When the review embargo lifted, reviews skewed largely positive, with the game holding a 90 on Metacritic . Impressions of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions would have likely affected this score. Instead, CD Projekt Red seemed to have controlled the initial message of the game, sending out the best version of Cyberpunk 2077 to reviewers while the poorly-running versions of the game were quietly released.
PLAYSTATION Writer