The maker of “Cyberbunk 2077”, one of the most anticipated video games of the year, said players can get their money back because the initial version includes bugs, rare action for a major publisher and the latest mark of a project due to release delays.
The Warsaw-based CD Project SA said in a tweet on Monday that the $ 60 game featuring Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves, which was released last week, did not work well on Sony Corp ‘s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox One. The company apologized and said it had resolved some issues with the latest updates and planned more in the coming weeks.
“We appreciate it if you give us a chance, but if you’re not happy with the game on your console and do not want to wait for updates, you can choose to return your copy,” the company said.
Analysts estimate that “Cyberbunk” will sell anywhere from 18 million to 25 million copies in its first month. On the day of its release, the CD Project claimed that the game had eight million bookings, of which about 59%, or 4.7 million copies, were for PCs.
A spokesman for the CD project declined to comment further. CD Project shares have fallen about 25% since closing Wednesday in Warsaw trading, with a market value of more than $ 2 billion.
“Cyberbunk” is the largest and most expensive project for a video game company for more than two decades. CD Project’s co-executives told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month that they had miscalculated how long it would take to complete “Cyberbunk” and that the corona virus infection was a hindrance to the four-year post-development phase, which continued pre-production work that began in 2012.
Executives said the company had initially immersed itself in attempts to run “cyberbank” on nine platforms. It previously created games for three platforms at a time.
It is not uncommon for sports publishers to recommend players a refund for their big budget releases. Companies usually delay fixing issues before they go on sale. One or two delays are relatively common, but not excessive. However, in recent years players are expected to introduce games with some drawbacks and developers will fix those issues with post-release online updates.
“This is a big mistake,” said Jefferies analyst Ken Rump, referring to the CD project’s “cyberbank” release.
The game has received mixed reactions from professional critics and everyday players, with some actively complaining on social media. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed his frustration with an unidentified author of a PlayStation 4 “cyberbank” copy with a screen shot in response to a tweet from the CD project.
“I took a week off to play this game and quickly realized that this was not the game I had been thinking about every day for eight years,” the news release said.
Many major developers have postponed games this year, citing health challenges as a major factor in the challenges facing the home. For example, Microsoft in August pushed its shooter owner Hollow’s new installment to next year.
The success of “Cyberbank” is important for the CD project. The company only has one other major franchise, The Witcher, whose last major release is now five years old.
Bernstein analyst Mattie Littunen said Snafu could create a headache for the CD project because it could create other games on the road, including the online multiplayer version of “Cyberbunk”.
“Players have long memories,” he said.
Sarah E. Write to needleman at [email protected]
