Developer CD Projekt Red has had quite the tumultuous week since the launch of its massive AAA game Cyberpunk 2077. For those who may be out of the loop, there is a massive refund debacle surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, as players are extremely dissatisfied with the fidelity of the game running on last-generation hardware.
Thankfully, CD Projekt Red is offering up help when it comes to refunding both digital and physical copies of Cyberpunk 2077. Now, major video game retailer GameStop is reportedly following suit, as a memo has apparently been circulating to staff that instructs stores to begin accepting returns for Cyberpunk 2077.
The news comes by way of Waypoint reporter and industry veteran Patrick Klepek. who sent out a tweet saying that “multiple GameStop employees” showed him the memo they recently received. The memo apparently instructs employees to accept returns for Cyberpunk 2077 even if the game case has been physically opened and removed from its initial packaging. Apparently, this memo is still making the rounds throughout GameStops storefronts, as players replying to Kelepek’s tweet were previously told that the store was not accepting refunds and that CD Projekt Red would handle retail refunds instead.
The news doesn’t come as much surprise, considering that most avenues of purchase are now offering to assist players with refunds for the game. Recently, Best Buy announced it would be refunding copies of Cyberpunk 2077 for those players who were dissatisfied with their purchase. Unfortunately, much like CD Projekt Red’s offer for physical versions, this offer will only last until December 21, 2020. It’s a shame that physical purchasers seem to be getting the short end of the stick in this situation, but refunding physical copies of the game is much more complicated compared to digital versions.
Naturally, most of these refunds concern copies of Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 and Xbox One, which run markedly worse when compared to other platforms. Players have reported the game slowing down to 15 frames per second, as well as consistent and frequent crashes on the base hardware. Aside from those issues, the game is still riddled with bugs and glitches, which many players are extremely frustrated by. Considering that CD Projekt Red neglected to properly showcase how the game would run on base last-generation, it’s only appropriate that the studio would offer to assist with refunding copies.
These issues naturally lead to a lot of speculation about what went on at CD Projekt Red during Cyberpunk 2077’s lengthy development. Considering the state the game is currently in, the studio must have known before launch that players would be dissatisfied with the current state of the game. Now, reports are coming out that claim that rumors circulated internally at CD Projekt Red that Cyberpunk 2077 was nowhere near done back in 2019. If that really was the case, the state of the game and this entire refund debacle would make a lot more sense.
Cyberpunk 2077 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions coming in 2021.