Several law firms have now confirmed that they are considering class-action lawsuits against CD Projekt Red in another blow to the developer. Cyberpunk 2077’s developer is under-fire for allegedly misleading investors and consumers alike in the lead-up to the game’s catastrophic launch on December 10.
The news follows a bad week for the Polish game developer, in which the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 was removed from the PlayStation store, and large numbers of refunds were given out. CD Projekt Red (CDPR) was forced to issue an apology statement via Twitter, and offered refunds to players unhappy with the product they purchased.
The problem is that despite of the statement released early last week, an emergency conference with investors revealed a lack of communication with gaming giants Xbox and PlayStation, further adding fuel to the fire. These lawsuits make the claim that the developer misled investors to secure development funding prior to launch and were revealed in an investigation by The New York Times.
One of the possible lawsuits come from Polish attorney Mikołaj Orzechowski, who has revealed an intend to sue CDPR for misrepresentation and possible criminal conduct under Article 286 of the Polish Penal Code - “misrepresentation in order to obtain financial benefits”.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 14, 2020
Additionally, CDPR may also see a lawsuit directed to them by Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, a New York-based law firm, who have announced that they are also looking at suing on the basis of CDPR allegedly misleading shareholders. Please keep in mind that both of these suits are simply being investigated by their respective firms, and have not yet been issued, as of writing.
EarlyGame has reached out for comment from CDPR about these potential lawsuits, along with a number of other questions regarding issues with Cyberpunk’s launch, but have been referred only to publicly available press releases. As of writing, CDPR has not issued any publicly available official response to legal claims made by Orzechowski, nor by the New York firm.
Cyberpunk 2077 was released on December 10 to mixed critical reception. Whilst initial responses to the game were relatively positive, CDPR did not provide any pre-release last-gen editions of the game. Upon release, these versions of the game were not only filled with even more bugs than the PC and next-gen upgrades but were riddled with game-crippling crashes and glitches.
The past week has been especially unkind to CDPR, with the game being pulled from the PlayStation Store, refunds being provided to potentially hundreds of thousands of gamers, and the studio’s founders losing more than $1 billion worth in stock.
The game has had a tumultuous development, mired by Covid-19 limiting testing capabilities in 2020. The game has been in development since 2012, however, and many other games have been released this year in much better states, so this is hardly an excuse for Cyberpunk's launch state.
We will continue our quest for clarity and information about why the game is in the state that it is, updates on possible lawsuits, what’s up with these refund shenanigans, as well as any response we get from CDPR. For now, keep yourself informed on EarlyGame if you are thinking of picking up the game for yourself, and have a very merry Christmas!
READ MORE:
- Industry Intel: Cyberpunk 2077 Breaks Steam Records Despite Controversy
- Cyberpunk 2077’s Refund Policy is a Complete Mess
- Cyberbug 2077: The Bugs and Glitches Plaguing Cyberpunk 2077!
- Cyberpunk 2077 Review Roundup: Can It Live Up to the Hype?
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