Sony removes Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store, offers full refunds

Sony Interactive Entertainment today announced that it will be removing CD Project Red's Cyberpunk 2077 from its online PlayStation Store. It also announced that it will be offering full refunds to those who already purchased the game.

SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store and want a refund. Please visit the following link to initiate the refund: https://t.co/DEZlC0LmUG.

— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) December 18, 2020

The company has set up a website where customers can signup to submit their request for a refund. Once it is confirmed that you purchased the game from the PlayStation Store, you should get your refund. However, this may be difficult at the moment as the company is getting inundated with a lot of requests from disgruntled customers.

CD Project Red launched Cyberpunk 2077 on December 10 on Windows 10, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia. The game was initially announced in 2012 but the launch date was set to be April 16 2020, which was eventually delayed to September 17, then to November 19, and then finally to December 10.

Since its release, users complained about excessive issues across multiple platforms, but most notably on the two home consoles. PlayStation and Xbox owners faced poor performance, with frame rates often dipping under 30 and even 20fps during gameplay, as well as crashes that would send them to the console's homescreen. The performance is particularly poor on the base PS4 and Xbox One S, although the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X aren't significantly better.

The game also proved inherently buggy, with glitches across the game world that can cause characters to behave in unexpected ways, making it difficult to play even if you ignore the other issues.

The only way to run the game without the performance issues was to play it on a next generation console. A PS5 or an Xbox Series X|S can brute force the game to run better but that still wouldn't solve the crashing and game code issues. Note that the game currently has no dedicated version for the next generation consoles and it is using backwards compatibility to play the PS4 and Xbox One versions.

The PC version is relatively well-off in comparison. While the game has extreme CPU and GPU requirements that far exceed the company's stated system requirements and the game code issues still exist, if you have a high-end gaming PC then you can at least enjoy playable framerates.

When users first complained about the issues with the game, CDPR released a statement on December 14 apologizing for the situation on consoles and also stating that they will be releasing smaller updates soon and then larger patches first in January and later in February. They also asked players on PlayStation and Xbox to refund the game if they aren't happy.

Important Update for @PlayStation Users pic.twitter.com/fCB4z74M3z

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 18, 2020

Following that today SIE released a statement saying they are removing the game from its store until further notice and that players who purchased it already can apply for a full refund. This statement was followed later by one from CDPR, where it said that you can still purchase the physical copy through other stores and everyone who still has the game will continue to get updates.

This is the first time Sony has had to remove a AAA title from its PlayStation Store over issues with the game. We have seen situations in the past, such as with the PC release of Batman Arkham Knight, where the developer pulled the title due to issues at launch, but rarely has the platform owner had to step in and pull the plug. This gives us an idea of the volume of complaints the company must have received over the week and also the severity of the issues in question. It would not at all be in Sony's interests to have a major title that performs so poorly be on its store, even if it is on its outgoing model.

As of this writing, Microsoft has not released a statement regarding the status of the game on its online store. However, you could still apply for a refund on the Xbox if you aren't happy.

On a personal note, as someone who is 30 hours into the game on the PC, I mostly have mixed feelings about it after reaching what seems like halfway into the main story (I spend more time doing side quests). I would have a lot more thoughts on the game once I finish my playthrough and if you are interested in a review of sorts then let me know in the comments below.

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