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Cyberpunk 2077
Credit: CDPR
What a mess. Who would have thought that Cyberpunk 2077, the most anticipated game of the year, would it have turned into such a massive controversy? Slated to launch many months ago, the long-awaited cyberpunk shooter has been the talk of the town since it was announced in May 2012.
For eight years, gamers have been eager to touch this. Now, almost a decade later, it is an absolute disaster.
Sure, on PC the game looks great. If you are using a ray tracing enabled Nvidia graphics card with DLSS, it is one of the most engaging games you have ever played. It is spectacular. Even if you don’t have a high-end platform, you can still enjoy the spectacular graphics with Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming service.
It’s even really good on Google Stadia, where it beats basically any console. And at least it’s playable on next-gen consoles, even if the version you’ll be playing there is an upgraded last-gen version rather than a true Xbox Series X or PS5 version.
The problem is with the “next generation” consoles which, I will point out, were “current generation” when this game was released. of course to have lunch.
The first warning bell sounded when we learned that we would have to sign an NDA if we were to receive a pre-release review copy of Cyberpunk 2077. It is not an embargo, yes, but a nondisclosure agreement. We were supposed to get our legal team to sign it, something the legal team said just wouldn’t happen. Never in nearly a decade of video game coverage have we been asked to have our legal team sign an NDA.
An NDA, I must point out, is much more binding and radical than simply signing an embargo. Every time a video game publisher or developer asks you to sign an NDA to receive a review copy, it’s a red flag.
When it became clear that no revision copy would be coming out for the PS4 or Xbox One versions of the game, we became concerned. More warning bells. More red flags. More omens of doom. We just didn’t think it would be that bad.
Sure enough, when the game was finally released, players weren’t just disappointed, they felt betrayed. The game’s critics and user scores on Metacritic are abysmal on PS4 and Xbox One. Among the worst of 2020.
At OpenCritic, the global review site has taken the unprecedented step of slapping the game with a consumer warning, claiming that CD Projekt Red actively concealed the game’s poor performance in the last generation.
The warning says, in its entirety:
Please note: This game has significant disparities in performance, player experience, and review scores between versions for PC, next-gen consoles, Xbox One, and PS4.
The OpenCritic team and several critics suspect that the developer, CD PROJEKT RED, intentionally sought to hide the true state of the game on Xbox One and PS4, with requirements such as allowing only pre-rendered game images in reviews and not issuing review copies. for PS4 and Xbox One versions.
This notice will be withdrawn in February 2021. “
Oh.
I asked OpenCritic co-founder Matthew Enthoven if this was common practice for the site or if this game deserved a special response.
“This is a situation that is unique in regards to the developer who goes out of his way to hide the performance of their product,” Enthoven told me. “The only other situation that comes to mind in recent memory was the initial PC release of Batman: Arkham Knight, but that was prior to the release of OpenCritic.
“Critics typically have ample opportunity to report games as buggy or incomplete, as was the case with other disastrous AAA releases like Fallout 76, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Anthem, and even Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. What’s different with Cyberpunk 2077 is that critics were denied that opportunity on current-gen consoles. “
Enthoven makes another interesting point about the nature of next-gen performance versus the current generation in the game.
“I would even emphasize that it remains unique,” says Enthoven. Just three weeks ago, the CDPR CEO called the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One “current generation” in his third-quarter earnings call. Yesterday’s statement changes its language to “next generation”, despite the game initially having a release date of April 2020, and then another in September 2020. “
In other words, until this delayed release, the only “current generation” version of the game was on PS4 and Xbox One. If it had been released in April, there would have been no revisions on PS5 or Xbox Series X, two platforms that don’t actually They have next-gen native versions of the game.
In a blog post on the consumer advisory, Enthoven digs deep and notes that CDPR’s manipulation of the review process was intentional and deeply cynical. With bonuses contingent on review scores (until CDPR changed this policy after launch), the studio had every incentive to ensure the game received the highest possible review scores.
Cyberpunk 2077
Credit: CDPR
Some highlights of Enthoven’s rather damning criticism of CDPR’s actions:
- CDPR only issued PC revision codes for publications with high-end gaming PCs and even then “required them not to show any of their own game recordings.”
- They did not allow reviews or discussions about the versions of the game for PS4 or Xbox One.
- They did so despite PS4 and Xbox One being the game’s target console platforms “given that they released their debut trailer in 2013 and the game’s initial release date in April 2020.”
- By the way, they covered the game’s lackluster performance, “knowing that the visual errors you’d see in a video were jarring enough to make many question their pre-order.”
- CDPR knew that “many publications generally cannot re-review games. It is not part of your business model. The second review creates confusion with your audience in addition to dampening your SEO and Google keyword rankings. Second reviews won’t feature prominently in news aggregators like Google News or Apple News because it’s a topic they’ve covered before. Second reviews also often occur after a game is released, when many consumers have already decided whether or not to buy a game and therefore do not attract the same readers. Finally, Metacritic generally does not accept edited or updated review grades. “
- Enthoven also notes that CDPR knew that “it is still a challenge for consumers to return a video game. Physical retailers generally require games to be unopened in order to be returned. Digital retailers have strict controls on their return policies, and many (particularly some consoles) do not offer returns at all. “
- Here’s a good point – I wrote about how some gamers were getting refunds from Sony, but the vast majority are apparently hitting a brick wall despite Sony’s irresponsible decision to certify Cyberpunk 2077 on the PS4.
- Enthoven also notes that most gamers talk about games, not the platform they are on, because there is typically no significant disparity between the platforms. “Consumers expect most games to be fairly rated across all platforms, and in our experience, most publishers honor that expectation. Most of the review summaries posted by individual posts do not reference the reviewed platform. Extremely large publications, such as IGN or GameSpot, generally have the opportunity to review all platforms and point out the important differences between them. It’s a small, though generally inconsequential, blind spot in how posts connect with players. “
“They did it knowing that what they were doing was wrong. ” Enthoven writes (emphasis in original). “It was deceptive, selfish and exploitative. They did it anyway. “
This is as well-written a condemnation of the actions and decisions of the CDPR as I have read on the subject, and I urge you to read it all.
It’s good to see CD Projekt Red apologize for this catastrophe, but it’s still a black mark for a developer who has spent years earning the trust of gamers, critics, and the industry. That’s why Cyberpunk 2077 was the best-selling PC game of all time at its launch, breaking the record for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands which had just been established a few weeks earlier. That is why we often refer to The Wizard games so lovingly, and a big reason why Netflix’s adaptation of The Wizard it is so popular.
Oh how the mighty have fallen!
I also contacted an interview with CDPR and will update this post if that interview ever comes out.
(PS: I’m playing the game on Stadia and PC and enjoying it very much. This comment, about CD Projekt Red’s bad practices in regards to the review process, last-gen performance, etc. not to mention the use of crunch (this is somewhat different from my impressions of the game, which are yet to come. One can be critical of a developer and still find merit in their games).
