When Cyberpunk 2077 launched, the game had more troubles beyond simple bugs and glitches. The road leading up to the game's release was rife with reports of studio crunch, rushed visions, and a cacophony of confusing timelines. That much was evident upon its release with Cyberpunk 2077 giving players a very different experience than what was promised. The disconnect between the product and its promise was so vast, in fact, that Sony quickly took down the game from its storefront and offered up refunds for gamers displeased with what CD Projekt Red had to offer. Sony promised it would return if, and only if, the Polish studio could make right by consumers and deliver the game that was advertised. Now that we've had numerous massive patches go live, the futuristic game is back on the PlayStation Store, but not without a warning for PS4 players.
Sony took to Twitter to let Cyberpunk hopefuls know that the game is back up on the PlayStation Store. It also came with an addendum, saying: "Work on the PS4 version continues, with fixes and updates to be released throughout the year. For the best experience on PlayStation, playing on PS4 Pro or PS5 consoles is recommended."
Cyberpunk 2077 is now available at PlayStation Store. Work on the PS4 version continues, with fixes and updates to be released throughout the year: https://t.co/XWCfOEQrLS For the best experience on PlayStation, playing on PS4 Pro or PS5 consoles is recommended.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 21, 2021
To be fair, any game on a PS4 Pro and PS5 would look better than its vanilla PS4 counterpart, but the need for total transparency is understandable. CD Projekt Red has been under the spotlight of several investigations with the Polish government regarding the processes behind the development of Cyberpunk 2077, including misleading marketing materials used to control consumer reactions.
There is no denying that this had been an incredibly trying time for the team, even before the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Studio leadership has admitted to crunch in the past following the development of The Witcher 3. After the culture came to light, there were promises to do better but it quickly became clear that the promise of a more stable working environment was not honored. Instead, leadership chose to bury the issues that plagued development and the result left us with one of the worst launches in gaming history. The developers themselves have even questioned those in charge, including investors, as to what is going to be done to ensure this doesn't happen again. With the future of Cyberpunk 2077 in question and The Witcher as an ultimate goal for the team to return to, there is a lot about the CPDR culture that needs to be addressed, both internally and regarding their tarnished reputation with the public.
Hopefully, there can be a lesson found within this mess for the leadership that is at the head of the Polish studio, especially so with new projects already in the works over at CDPR.
What do you think about the timeline of Cyberpunk 2077 and its return to the PlayStation Store? Do you think CDPR deserves some slack or was this a long time coming? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below.
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