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    Breaking: Both PlayStation and Xbox offering refunds for Cyberpunk 2077, PlayStation removes game from its online store

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    Update 4: Now, Xbox has expanded its refund policy and will offer refunds for anyone who requests one, for the digital version. However, unlike Sony, the Xbox One version will still be listed on Xbox Live and Microsoft. Which, to be honest, is the better call. All Sony needed to do was offer refunds and call it a day. 

    Update 3: Remember what I said last time about a bad soap opera? There’s another development; PlayStation has pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store and will now offer refunds for those who purchased the game digitally.

    SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, therefore we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store. SIE will also be removing Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store until further notice.

    “Once we have confirmed that you purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store, we will begin processing your refund. Please note that completion of the refund may vary based on your payment method and financial institution.

    This comes after CD Projekt Red had told everyone who purchased the game to contact either Sony or Microsoft for a refund, making everyone believe that an agreement had been reached. In truth, neither Sony nor Microsft were contacted, and CD Projekt Red backtracked by saying they meant for owners of Cyberpunk 2077 to go through the proper channels to request a refund.  For those who’ve ever tried to refund a game via PlayStation, it’s a painful experience as their refund policy – well, it sucks.

    Sony will revisit re-adding the game to its online after the big patches are released, which won’t be until Jan. and Feb. 2021, respectfully.

    So there’s where we are now. Cyberpunk 2077 has been delisted on the PlayStation Store, and refunds will now be honored. We still don’t know if Microsoft will follow suit, as their refund policy is a little better. While it isn’t optimal, now Xbox is the only play anyone can purchase Cyberpunk 2077 digitally.

    I feel bad for the developers who put their hearts and souls into this game. It wasn’t their decision to release the game in this state, and I feel 100% that management and the investors forced this hand. I don’t fault the developers one bit and feel these unsung heroes are looking at this situation and are likely feeling like their hearts were ripped from their bodies. It’s not fair one bit to them. So if you happen to see this and you worked on this game – Kudos to you. We know this isn’t what you wanted.

    Update 2: This is all like a bad soap opera that needs to end. We’ve been following the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and it’s been a mess. From the bugs, crashing, poor performance, and now, refunds. Yesterday, CD Projekt Red had told everyone who purchased the game for the PS4 or Xbox One who wasn’t happy with the performance to get a refund from Sony or Microsoft. I recommend that they do, as the game is nearly unplayable on the base consoles.

    Except, this was entirely true – they misled us all. Both Sony and Microsoft have a refund policy that is strict as heck. Basically, the only way you can get a refund if you’ve already downloaded the game is to prove that it is faulty. And while we can all see this, neither Sony nor Microsoft are too thrilled about providing refunds. This is compounded by the fact that CDPR had told everyone that it was ok to ask for refunds – where it clearly isn’t. This is evident by the number of people asking for refunds and being rejected.

    Now CDPR is walking this back, as stated in a recent conference call (Listen to it here / read the transcript here) where they are clarifying that they weren’t encouraging anyone to request a refund, which is not what they were doing yesterday.

    We are not encouraging gamers to return to the game. We hope they will give us a chance to improve the game on the original consoles. There was one fix last weekend. There is another coming in seven days. But there is [the refund] option.

    D Projekt Red business development SVP Michal Nowakowski expands on this, stating that while many had speculated that the company was receiving special treatment from Sony and Microsoft, they clearly were not. 

    You have to understand, Microsoft and Sony, for every product that is released digitally on their storefronts have refund policies. Despite various articles that have shown up, that things are being opened just for us, It’s actually not true. These policies are in place and have always been in place. They are not opened up specifically for us. Anybody who has purchased any title on PlayStation Network or Microsoft’s storefront can ask for a refund.

    Meaning that even while CDPR did offer the refund, if you weren’t happy with the game and that you could request a refund, they weren’t entirely clear. What they should have said is, “you can attempt to request a refund, but you may not get one.” They keep being misleading to everyone who purchased this game.

    As a result, there will be numerous people who aren’t satisfied with the game and have no recourse but to wait for CDPR to fix the bugs and performance issues – if they can. I don’t see either the PS4 or Xbox One base consoles getting anywhere near close to being acceptable. At the same time, the company has ruined any goodwill they had with the community.

    As for the PS4/Xbox One, they have finally admitted that those base consoles weren’t the game’s main focus, and I don’t fault them for that. I do fault them for the lack of transparency of the messaging. They basically lied to us; they withheld showing the consoles and passing the info on it. They even mention it was against their own business philosophy, which bothers me. If it was against your philosophy, then why do it?

    After 3 delays, we as the Management Board were too focused on releasing the game. We underestimated the scale and complexity of the issues, we ignored the signals about the need for additional time to refine the game on the base last-gen consoles. It was the wrong approach and against our business philosophy. On top of that, during the campaign, we showed the game mostly on PCs.
    This caused the loss of gamers’ trust and the reputation that we’ve been building through a big part of our lives. That’s why our first steps are solely focused on regaining those two things. We are concentrated on fixing Cyberpunk on last-gen consoles. The first substantial set of fixes was released over the weekend. The next set of fixes will be released within the next seven days. Big updates are planned for January and February, together with smaller fixes. Of course, PC gamers will also be getting regular updates and fixes to improve the game. We will do everything possible to prove that we stick
    to our values.

    I’m going to go full heel here and say what I’ve been saying for a while, and this should have skipped the PS4/Xbox One if CDRP couldn’t get them running at an acceptable level. It wouldn’t be the first game that would have done this. Had they done this, sure, they would have suffered some backlash, but people would have respected the decision, and the game’s reception would have been better. Instead, what’s happening is a good game is being dragged through the dirt because of how the company handled the situation.

    At this point, I’d go directly to CDPR by contacting them at the email address they set up for refund assistance at helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com. Hopefully, they can help you out if Sony and Microsoft refuse to do so. And let me be specific here; it is not on Sony or Microsoft’s head to assist. It would be nice if they did, but the fault here a the end of the day is on CD Projekt Red.

    Update 1: Originally, we reported that Sony was allowing anyone who owned Cyberpunk 2077 for the PS4 to get a refund. Then earlier today, December 14th, 2020, CD Projekt Red claimed that both Sony and Microsoft worked with those same people and requested a refund. Sony has now claimed they didn’t agree to this and have started denying refund requests. While they allowed those over the weekend, chances are those weren’t as many as what Sony is likely experiencing now. 

    There have been multiple reports that Sony tells people that they can’t assist them with the refunds. This is just adding to the fire that is Cyberpunk 2077, and it paints CD Projekt Red as the bad guy here.

    This is frustrating, to say the least. At least for now, PlayStation owners who originally thought they had a way to get out of this issue are now stuck waiting for the Jan/Feb updates that CD Projekt Red has outlined. 

    Original Story Below

    If the year 2020 has shown us anything about video games, it’s that games that have a LOT of hype on them and have been in development (and promised to release) for years aren’t always going to live up to the expectations and hype. Marvel’s Avengers and The Last Of Us Part 2 are a great example of that for completely different reasons. And now, we can add Cyberpunk 2077.

    The game that has LONG been in development by CD Projekt Red has FINALLY launched on current-gen, next-gen consoles, and PC. The problem? The game is too buggy to play at times, the graphics and framerates are major pitfalls even for next-gen systems like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, and only the PC users seem to be making it work well enough to play.

    As such, both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners have been posting on Reddit that they’ve been asking for refunds for the game. A Sony representative even noted on Reddit that a bulk of Cyberpunk 2077 players on their systems have been asking for refunds.

    This is a huge blow to a game that many people felt was going to be revolutionary, but it also once again proves that no game, no matter the hype or the developer, should be launched until it’s ready. Bad things happen if it’s not.

    As for us, we’re still working on our Cyberpunk 2077 review, but on the PC version.

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    A self-proclaimed Nintendo fanboy, born, bred, and Mushroom fed! He’s owned every Nintendo handheld and every console since the SNES. He's got a degree in video game development, is a published comic book writer and an author of several novels!