Sony stunned the games market by removing Cyberpunk 2077 from its online PlayStation store a week before Christmas, after one of the most expensive and anticipated titles in industry history was hit by technical problems.
Analysts in Tokyo said Friday’s move was the first time they knew of the Japanese company pulling a so-called “triple-A” title from its download store. The decision comes just a week after the launch of a title priced at about $60 that was forecast to sell 30m units over the next two years.
Sony’s move was a “humiliation” for CD Projekt Red, the Polish studio that produced Cyberpunk 2077, according to analysts. CD Projekt Red’s Warsaw-traded shares tumbled as much as 20 per cent on Friday, with the stock down 40 per cent since the game was released.
Users reported serious issues with Cyberpunk 2077, such as crashes, visual glitches and malfunctioning mechanics almost immediately after it was released. The release of the dystopian open-world thriller starring a digital Keanu Reeves had been pushed back three times, most recently from November to December.
The title would not be on sale “until further notice”, Sony said, offering full refunds to those who had bought it. More than 8m gamers, across both console and PC platforms, had pre-ordered the title before its release on December 10.
“[Sony Interactive Entertainment] strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction,” said Sony in a statement to the Financial Times. “Following discussions with CD Projekt, the publisher and developer of Cyberpunk 2077, SIE will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store and want a refund at this time.”
It was not clear whether Microsoft would also pull the game from its Xbox store after similar issues were reported by players on its platform. A Microsoft spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Sony said it did not have a timeline for reinstating the game. CD Projekt Red has promised to release fixes for the game in January and February.
“We are working hard to bring Cyberpunk 2077 back to PlayStation Store as soon as possible,” CD Projekt Red wrote on Twitter on Friday.
“It’s the worst-case scenario for CD Projekt Red,” said Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based analyst and games industry consultant. “Before you pull a game like that a platform provider like Sony would need to be really angry with the developer and desperate to protect their reputation as a platform. Quality is such a big issue that Sony will have seen no other choice. My guess is that Microsoft will follow.”
The game’s release comes just one month after the launches of two next generation consoles — Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X — and was seen as a showcase title. The period ahead of the Cyberpunk 2077 launch, however, generated speculation that it may have been rushed to market despite known quality issues.
Many of the problems with the game, which had been eight years in development, were reported on versions played on Sony’s older PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
On Monday, CD Projekt Red apologised for the game’s problem.
Among those expressing frustration with the game on Twitter was Elon Musk, Tesla chief executive.
CD Projekt Red is one of the most valuable groups on Warsaw’s stock exchange, and until now was best known for creating the acclaimed The Witcher, a series that has sold more than 50m copies since it began in 2007.
While it is common for games to be patched up by developers following their initial release, analysts said it was unprecedented for a big store to remove such a prominent title entirely from sale due to poor quality.
In October, Amazon’s game studio took the decision to cancel its own title Crucible just six months after its release, following a poor reception.
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