wraggster
January 24th, 2021, 21:47
Cyberpunk 2077 is in a weird position of being a massive financial success and a catastrophic failure, a best-selling game that was pulled from storefronts, a critical darling (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-08-cyberpunk-2077-critical-consensus) (among pre-launch reviewers, at least) that has been subjected to relentless criticism. But what I find strangest of all about it is that its story isn't more common.
We've had plenty of big games that failed to live up to the marketing hype (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-11-23-fallout-76-critical-consensus). We've had plenty of developers resort to death march crunch to finish up a game (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/rockstar-spouse-accuses-dev-of-pushing-its-employees-to-the-brink) that looks like it's going to be a complete mess just months before launch. We've had literally unplayable games at launch (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-08-simcity-server-woes-impact-global-launch).
But I don't recall anything like Cyberpunk 2077 before. I don't recall a major platform holder ever banishing a AAA title from its storefront (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-18-sony-pulls-cyberpunk-2077-from-playstation-store) because the game was simply too prone to bugs and crashing. I don't recall a developer refunding customers for the full price of a $250 collector's edition of the game and then letting them keep it (https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bmmx/people-are-getting-cyberpunk-2077-refunds-and-getting-to-keep-the-game). I don't recall a company facing multiple investor lawsuits (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-19-cd-projekt-faces-a-second-class-action-lawsuit-over-cyberpunk-2077) over a game that sold 13 million copies its first month (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-22-cyberpunk-2077-has-sold-over-13m-copies).
Was the Cyberpunk 2077 launch a perfect storm? | This Week in Business | GamesIndustry.biz (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-22-cyberpunk-2077-launch-was-a-perfect-storm-this-week-in-business)
We've had plenty of big games that failed to live up to the marketing hype (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-11-23-fallout-76-critical-consensus). We've had plenty of developers resort to death march crunch to finish up a game (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/rockstar-spouse-accuses-dev-of-pushing-its-employees-to-the-brink) that looks like it's going to be a complete mess just months before launch. We've had literally unplayable games at launch (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-08-simcity-server-woes-impact-global-launch).
But I don't recall anything like Cyberpunk 2077 before. I don't recall a major platform holder ever banishing a AAA title from its storefront (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-18-sony-pulls-cyberpunk-2077-from-playstation-store) because the game was simply too prone to bugs and crashing. I don't recall a developer refunding customers for the full price of a $250 collector's edition of the game and then letting them keep it (https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bmmx/people-are-getting-cyberpunk-2077-refunds-and-getting-to-keep-the-game). I don't recall a company facing multiple investor lawsuits (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-19-cd-projekt-faces-a-second-class-action-lawsuit-over-cyberpunk-2077) over a game that sold 13 million copies its first month (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-22-cyberpunk-2077-has-sold-over-13m-copies).
Was the Cyberpunk 2077 launch a perfect storm? | This Week in Business | GamesIndustry.biz (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-22-cyberpunk-2077-launch-was-a-perfect-storm-this-week-in-business)