Cyberpunk 2077 Video Game Developer Could Face Lawsuit Over Misrepresentation

CD Projekt Red, a game developer in Warsaw, Poland responsible for popular “The Witcher” video game series may be facing a class action lawsuit from their investors for releasing the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 before it was ready.

Gamers and investors alike have been waiting for the release of this open-world, action-adventure RPG (Role Playing Game) for years, and after several delays allegedly due to the effects of COVID-19, it was released on December 10, 2020. However, the game these customers received was far from what they expected.

Cyberpunk 2077 is allegedly rife with game-play inhibiting glitches, particularly for last generation consoles.

Cyberpunk 2077 is set in the futuristic world of Night City, where gamers can play a mercenary outlaw who uses personalized cyber enhancements to take down corrupt corporations. Glitches that have been reported by first-purchasers are wide-ranging and allegedly make progressing through the game virtually impossible. Co-CEO of CD Projekt Red admitted that “...after three delays, we were too focused on releasing the game… we ignored signals about the need for additional time to refine the game on the base last-gen consoles.” Extreme pressure from antsy gamers and investors is cited as a big contributor to the pressure for a fast release.

A few of the more entertaining glitches from the game—assuming you didn’t purchase or invest in it—include the following:

• Characters suddenly go bald.
• Characters may suddenly stand in a T-position, sometimes on top of a motorcycle without their pants.
• Broken windows randomly slingshot characters away from their targets.
• Cars inexplicably drive through walls.
• NPCs (Non-Player Characters) randomly appear and disappear in the background, sometimes just before the game crashes.
• Motorcycles suddenly explode underneath gamers, sending them flying.
• Cars may rain from the sky for no discernible reason.
• Background elements such as trees and cars may swallow characters when they get too close.

Sony and Microsoft are offering full refunds for the game, as is CD Projekt Red.

However, CD Projekt Red is also asking gamers to give them a chance to issue “patches” that could fix the bugs in question, which they hope should be done rolling out by sometime in February. Staff working for the game developer have admitted to working regular stretches of overtime and feeling that development deadlines for the game were unrealistic. If the game was rushed, it’s not terribly surprising; gamers and investors alike have been active in pushing for the release of this long-awaited game. Critics of a potential lawsuit have pointed out that Cyberpunk was never really intended for last-gen consoles like the kind that are experiencing many of these glitches. Additionally, PC gamers are apparently not experiencing the same level of difficulty with the game.

Investors are openly considering the merits of a class action lawsuit against the game developer.

At this point, a lawsuit against the Cyberpunk developer seems more than possible. With at least three law firms admitting to an active investigation into potential wrongdoing by the game developer, a lawsuit is beginning to sound more likely than not. According to Article 286 of the Polish penal code, misrepresenting a product for financial benefits is illegal, and this is exactly what some investors believed happened. This allegation is only aggravated by the fact that review copies of the game were never distributed for last-gen consoles such as the Xbox One and Playstation 4—an unusual phenomenon in the world of video game releases which critics of the game believe may indicate that CD Projekt Red intentionally misled consumers.

The likelihood of this class action lawsuit may very well hinge upon the success of the game developers patches in stopping existing bugs, but lawyers investigating the situation are currently collecting names and testimonies from those who have been affected by the buggy game.