Troubled game studio CD Projekt has been thrown a lifeline, with Sony moving to reinstate Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation Store next week.
Though a critical darling before its release, the game was inundated with complaints from users angry about its unfinished, bug-ridden state, which was particularly bad on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. CD Projekt management admitted it ignored issues with the game in order to release on time after several delays.
In light of user complaints, Sony pulled the game from its digital storefront shortly after its release, and the studio has been working to fix it with several patches over the months since. Gamers spotted the title available to “wishlist” on the platform in recent days, and in a statement to Eurogamer, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed Cyberpunk 2077 would be back on the PlayStation Store starting June 21.
“Users will continue to experience performance issues with the PS4 edition while CD Projekt Red continues to improve stability across all platforms. SIE recommends playing the title on PS4 Pro or PS5 for the best experience,” it said.
Aside from the bugs and other technical issues, one epileptic game journalist complained that the flashing lights in the “braindance” sequences gave her seizures, and the game was condemned by LGBT activists for its portrayal of transgender people.
Labour advocates also slammed the studio for imposing mandatory overtime – known in the industry as “crunch” – despite promises to the contrary.
The game’s Metacritic user score on PS4 still sits at 3.6, indicating “generally unfavourable reviews”; its PC version fares better at 7.1, indicating “mixed or average reviews”.