Cyberpunk 2077 was expected to be one of the gaming industry's all-time greats, but when the game launched it soon became clear that something was very wrong. The title that could have been CD Projekt Red's magnum opus was riddled with bugs and featured so many technical problems that refunds were offered and a group of investors sued. Now, CD Projekt Red has finally reached a settlement concerning the Cyberpunk 2077 launch lawsuit.
The lawsuit in question is actually four class-action lawsuits filed against CD Projekt, all due to Cyberpunk 2077's faulty launch. They were consolidated into a single lawsuit back in May and have now been suspended due to CD Projekt Red reaching a settlement with the investors in question.
According to a new statement released today, CD Projekt Red has agreed to pay out $1.85 million US dollars to the plaintiffs in exchange for the plaintiffs dropping their charges. It appears that the plaintiffs have agreed to relinquish any and all claims against the company and its management board. The statement also makes it clear that CD Projekt Red and the other defendants named during the case are not admitting to any responsibility by agreeing to this settlement.
Despite Sony having taken the game off its digital storefront, Cyberpunk 2077 was incredibly successful across platforms, including PS4. The title made over $563 million US dollars in its launch month alone, a figure that dwarfs the numbers laid down by the settlement. Reportedly, CD Projekt Red spent just $2.2 million US dollars on its Help Me Refund campaign, which was designed to help players who were unable to find a refund from the original vendor get their money back. It currently seems to be unclear how CD Projekt Red and the plaintiffs reached an agreement on the $1.85 million dollar payout.
In May, business analyst Mike Futter observed that CD Projekt Red has identified about $51 on a financial report as “provisions for returns and expected adjustments of licensing reports related to sales of Cyberpunk 2077 in its release window, in Q4 2020.” However, he also observed that the language used was intentionally confusing. Although the Cyberpunk 2077 lawsuit is far from the only massive lawsuit haunting the video game industry at the moment, it may be one of the most important. Not only was Cyberpunk 2077 constructed under a significant crunch, but the game was also such a disaster at launch that its failure has gone down in infamy.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions releasing in 2022.
Source: VGC