After what seemed like an eternity, CD Projekt’s ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ had finally reached storefronts only to disappoint everyone in the end. To the dismay of those who sat patiently waiting to play it on multiple platforms, old and new, the dystopian RPG was nothing more than a cruel joke, ugly and unstable due to its many game-breaking bugs and glitches.

It’s not a good look, especially for the Polish studio that brought the critically acclaimed ‘The Witcher’ book franchise from its pages to TV screens in the form of Video Games. Yes, video games that went on to set the standard for similar franchises in the future.

Thanks to this debacle, the developer and it's parent company CD Projekt SA face great hardships, a predicament that could force the company to rethink the way it approaches video game releases in the future. But more importantly, it has exposed the delusional mindset of the company’s leadership that could lead to its downfall.

The ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ that wasn’t

Long story short, CDPSA had completely crapped the bed on ‘Cyberpunk 2077.’ The title was riddled with many game-breaking bugs that riled up a storm of critical savaging and loss of sales on launch. These issues ranged from those that undermined the build's specific components to those that crashed the entire thing outright.

Of course, since it was a cross-gen release, these same issues also plagued the PS4 and Xbox One versions.

However, these versions had far worse afflictions that made them practically unrecognizable in comparison to their next-gen counterparts and that of an actual game.

To add more fuel to the fire, these versions weren’t even shown before launch, prompting many to question CDPSA’s legitimacy as a professional business, and rightfully so.

This was not an accident. It was intentional.

‘Cyberscam 2077’

The undeniable truth about ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ was that the game and its audience were the victims of a mind game played by the company, though it wasn't planned initially. More specifically, the plot was part of a gamble to cash in on emerging new hardware. But it predictably undermined seven years of the developer’s hard work and any prestige it still had instead.

Cross-generational releases like this one are always tricky to pull off as developers have to work with multiple platforms with varying configurations. However, ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ was originally meant for the previous generation of consoles, but those plans changed once the launch of new consoles was impending.

The moment that happened, CDPR started walking a tightrope towards the next generation while carrying the previous one over its shoulders. The devs would have to endure some crunch to have the game’s launch coincide with these new platforms, which undoubtedly led to some of the delays. But the irony here as they were also cutting corners as evident from the final build.

Currently, the developer is at odds with the publisher over the decisions leading to the failed launch.

Crunch and disinformation might not actually have been in the fine print, but it all happened anyway. The situation is made more frustrating when considering that it was easily avoidable. Optionally, the game could have remained exclusive to the PS4 and Xbox One consoles until the time was right for a next-gen release. But the publisher wanted to take the risk with a half-baked cross-gen release, and it backfired.

A losing gamble

Some companies can indeed cross the lines with a product that will upset their consumer bases and still make a considerable profit in the end. However, it’s also true that these decisions tend to lead to diminishing returns that will affect the company in the long run.

Or crash and burn outright.

It could very well be the latter with ‘Cyberpunk 2077.’ Within its first month, CDPSA’s stocks have fallen by 33%, and its founders have suffered losses reaching $1 billion. Although the game has sold over 13 million copies (including refunds) within that month and could sell even more before the end of the fiscal year, the overall losses from this are already too high to recuperate from.

The company has also come under fire recently from a legal hit squad over this plot. New York-based law firm Rosen is seeking compensation on behalf of stockholders for any financial damage they sustained during 2020. If successful, the class action suit could cost the company even more in the long run.

CD Projekt’s worst punishment

Given how things are panning out, CDPSA stands to lose a lot of its stake on the market in the coming months. But that’s far from the worst of it. The biggest stake the company has to lose from all of this is actually its own integrity.

CDPR was renowned for crafting an intellectual property like sculpting a gem—a work ethic that not many developers shared in an industry marred by diminishing returns. But those achievements revolved around ‘The Witcher’ franchise. What ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ represented was the developer's chance to prove it was more than just ‘The Witcher’ studio by breaking into new territory.

Unfortunately, the new title's mishandling across all available platforms and the useless cover-up intertwined has placed the entire company under a magnifying glass.

Hence, it might not matter if the game is fully patched way before the end of the fiscal year or even manages to turn a considerable profit by then. The damage to both CDPSA and CDPR’s reputations has already been done.

The bottom line is the whole debacle has outed the entire company as a highly competent and disingenuous game provider. By the time 2021 gets here, CDPR will undoubtedly undergo some internal restructuring to shake off the stench emanating from its disastrous involvement with ‘Cyberpunk 2077.’

As for the RPG, it isn’t a complete disaster. In fact, it could still become a far better prospect through post-development as so many other disastrous launch titles have in the past. ‘No Man’s Sky’ and ‘Fallout 76’ come to mind. But CDP/R’s future releases will be met with pessimistic glares from now on. And once again, the same goes for the rest of the industry.
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