610°

Cyberpunk Maker Vows Defense Against Class Action Suit Claims

CD Projekt SA, the Polish video-game publisher of Cyberpunk 2077, said it will defend itself vigorously after an investor sued the company for allegedly misleading holders of its depository receipts and incurring losses.

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bloomberg.com
Eonjay1227d ago

Investors lost a billion after the launch because of how CD misled on the actual game performance on devices that would make up the largest share of consumption.

What exactly are they going to defend?

Michiel19891226d ago

@Eon probably gonna nitpick over the wording in their contracts, as lawyers usually do

thorstein1227d ago

What do you want with your popcorn?

ScootaKuH1226d ago

Not Cyberpunk, that's for sure

neutralgamer19921227d ago

I am against these sort of lawsuits but CDPR did know game wasn't ready and they internally releases it anyway. Why not release it on pc and wait for consoles till 2021? They have tainted their consumer friendly reputation

But many gamers are defending CDPR when these same gamers would hate on other big publishers if they did something similar

Teflon021226d ago (Edited 1226d ago )

This, I never understood why it was essentially ready for PC only, why they couldn't just release it first and release last gen when the next gen versions drop. Would have made so much more sense

Emme1226d ago

Because they got pressured from the very same people who now want to sue them. Business logic. The investors always win.Its like ordering someone to put a hole in the bucket and then sue him for not beeing able to deliver enough water.

Rocketisleague1226d ago

We're not sure why they released it in this state, there's a high chance investors pushed for it imo against developer recommendation, that is the natural order

neutralgamer19921226d ago

To the comments below:

Yes but let's also not forget CDPR said it again and again it will come out when it's ready. Investors pressure I would guess so but I think they gave into multiple factors

Investors pressure
Ending the year with a bang
Generating more money
Gamer pressure

And biggest I still think is the fact they started looking at themselves as invincible. They thought we are CDPR and we are so pro consumers that the backlash won't be that much. I truly feel bad for the developers who worked on this game for 5+ years and than to have their work gets such bad attention

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1226d ago
ArchangelMike1227d ago

Sure they'll defend themselves vigourously, but it's still time and money down the drain. Plus there's simply no question that the game wasn't ready for release on last gen consoles. If you agree to offer full refunds, then you've already admitted the game was broken at launch.

I hope this teaches the CDPR execs a very valuable lesson.

-Foxtrot1227d ago

Not just CDPR but other developers aswell, like if Bethesda wants to come out with other buggy games.

So hopefully they are taking their time with Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI

RgR1227d ago

What other games have the kidding capabilities of bethesda games?

What other large open worlds like theirs that allow their amount of interaction are there out in the market and have no bugs?

Fluttershy771227d ago

@RgR I'd say Skyrim glitchy mess, insanely long loading times, and game breaking bugs at the time were ok because of how ambitious and revolutionary the game was, same with other old Bethesda titles.
Something like Fallout 76 is just unacceptable; is like a mockery to your fanbase

esherwood1227d ago

I was perfectly fine with it. Taking 8 years to build a game isn’t really an option. They’ll probably make there game less ambitious since everyone’s throwing a fit over crap that’s not even an issue

CaptainHenry9161227d ago (Edited 1227d ago )

Even some of the Fallout games was very buggy

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1227d ago
SullysCigar1227d ago

Does seem odd, doesn't it? Do something, apologise for it, then deny doing anything wrong when it's taken to court?

Projections led investors to anticipate 3.5 million more sales of this game before Christmas 2020. The messaging and developmental shortfalls resulted in backlash which reduced sales via refunds suggested by CDPR themselves.

I'm sure there's more to it that we don't know about, but I'd be interested in seeing how they intend to defend against this. If they're successful, I will take notes lol...

SmokinAces1227d ago

I dont think they're trying to deny they did something wrong Sully I think they've acknowledged that I just think they disagree with the lawsuit.

RgR1227d ago

The issue at hand is if the wrong is actually justifiably illegal and proof of wrongdoing.

Many times games come out with bugs and glitches so there can't be any wrongdoing there.
Performance problems? Many games release with those as well....not proof of wrongdoing either.

The release was just indicative of it being released before fully optimized and polished.

So what was the wrongdoing? Releasing it early? How is that unlawful?

Seraphim1227d ago

@ RgR not entirely sure everything they've told investors over the course of say, 2 years. But when they did push back the launch from Spring to Fall of this year they stated the game was done and the additional time was to polish and perfect the game. They have misrepresenting their product knowingly for some time. While I don't necessarily agree with the lawsuit and even after refunds the game has sold incredibly well and will continue to sell well once these issues are patched, a next gen version is available and more next gen consoles are out there.... the fact of the matter is that lying to investors is simply illegal. And I'm pretty sure these investors have ample proof of just that. Had they been upfront and honest with investors they wouldn't be in this position. had they remained a private company they wouldn't have this issue so on and so forth.

1226d ago
TheProfessional1227d ago (Edited 1227d ago )

It's kind of a joke that Bethesda games always got a free pass for bugs and glitches and the graphics on their games were never even that great, especially on 360/PS3.

I get that the base last gen consoles couldn't run cyberpunk and that is unacceptable but the way people are overreacting about the glitches on the other versions is excessive.

Cyberpunk is still a really good game despite all of the controversy. The world, the story, the graphics and the non politcally correct jokes and ads are all excellent. This game is what the sequel to Deus Ex Human Revolution should have been.

SyntheticForm1227d ago (Edited 1227d ago )

CD built up a sterling reputation for quality and customer satisfaction in a way (at a speed) that no one had ever really done and then they completely upended that quality, satisfaction, and trust. Most of this was built by one game, The Witcher 3. Sure, you had the other entries, but they were far less ambitious and popular.

With Bethesda it was a little different; we learned to expect and accept large open worlds that were buggy so long as the games were generally good. Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim were all solid, but the latter two lacked the polish of the former.

So, two different situations for these devs that both ended quite the same, with trust and satisfaction being squandered in lieu of a fast buck.

I really hope we get a return to quality and that companies have learned from the disgrace of Bioware, Bethesda, and now sadly, CDPR.

Stanjara1227d ago

Yes and No.
Morrowind, Oblivion and Fallout had barley been in digital age on consoles, and those digital refund policies were strict. Besides that, those games were playable... even thou those game ran poorly on PS3 due to split ram...Sony would do shit.

We needed this. We needed 8 mill preorders to go sour. We also needed stupid move of giving refunds from CDPR on Sonys platform where Sony ended up with millions of requests and outcry.

So Sony refunded everything and removed a game from store.

Never in History Sony done that other than Fallout 76...I think Sony gave some refunds but quickly dropped them in respond to incoming patches.

It's a precedent to behold.
Now publishers will think twice of releasing unfinished product because it could reflect in loosing company's stock value, which is much harder than losing sales.
And Sony will have some quality control on their store end.

yeahokwhatever1227d ago

HAHA CDPR always launches buggy messes. Where you been?

RgR1226d ago

Im sorry. The quality was clear and actually more in depth in witcher 1 and 2.

Witcher 3 just got all the lousy casuals on board and thought wow...this is amazing. Some of us were like...the graphics don't look as good as the 2nd and what's with all these fluf aide quests....sure they were better then most other open worlds but they're still fetchy quests.

Their quality was clearly up there with witcher 1 and then 2. But all 3 of them had bugs and glitches....especially on consoles...performance issues were there. Not sure what quality you were talking about

RgR1227d ago

It's not just cyberpunk. In court you can't say stuff like it was buggy and therefore you can get sued.

It has to be more specific and be able to be applied in other instances. So in this case. If the issue was the bugs then literally any game out there is susceptible to being sued.

If the issue is performance dropping below 20fps then games from the past and games out right now could potentially be sued any moment fps drops below 20. Not to mention performance is always linked with hardware. On pc if you try playing a game with a super low end card you'll get low fps...buts that's not the problem with the game but with the console.

So it really won't hold up to scrutiny.

Are they sued over their projections for sales? Well they're called projections for a reason.

gamer78041227d ago

i don't know anything about the inner workings and promises with investors, thats really separate like you are saying from just a game being buggy. We really won't have any idea until the court proceedings become public.

1227d ago
RememberThe3571227d ago

You really are intent on only seeing his one way. Why are you even bothering to comment at this point? This is a civil case, there is no jurisdiction bringing charges against CDPR yet. It a civil case there is not standard of reasonable doubt. All investors have to do in show they were mislead and that lead to damages and CDPR is on the hook for their losses. CDPR made numerous public statements about the state of the game that almost all proved to be false, and everything we've seen from the investors side says the same thing. If you're trying to undercut a court case with whataboutisms you're not really thinking your comments through, because thinking a judge will nod along to obvious logical fallacies is hilarious.

This will no doubt get assigned to an arbiter. No one is going to wants to preside over rich people bickering when nothing of substance is at stake.

yeahokwhatever1227d ago

they're suing because the investors potentially lost money when Sony pulled the game, because CDPR had told the investors and the public at large that the game was ready for launch, which according to their own admission, it was not.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1227d ago
Rude-ro1227d ago (Edited 1227d ago )

They knew the state of the game that is on the largest install base of gaming.
They lied and they sold it while letting fluff reviews out first.

Everything else does not matter. Not time, not which hardware, nothing.

They will lose the cases and putting up a defense will MAYBE keep their losses in check. That is all.

CorndogBurglar1227d ago

But that isn't true. PS4 can run Cyberpunk. Its obviously not running at the same quality as PS5 or even PS4 Pro. The graphics and framerates suffer. But I'm playing it on PS4 and its not "unplayable" like people claim. Is it glitchy? Yes. But its glitchy on everything.

The problem is on PS4 its just no where near what we were told the game would be, graphically.

JackBNimble1226d ago

So why would Sony pull it from their store if the game isn't broken?

exputers1227d ago

Bethesda never lied, the only difference here buddy.

SullysCigar1227d ago

"16 times the detail", "it just works", "high quality SE canvass bag" lol

Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not defending what CDPR did or their chances in this lawsuit, but Bethesda lied to consumers - many times. Maybe not investors, though, or they'd have found themselves in the same boat as CDPR.

OneLove1226d ago

Skyrim graphics were great for its time and still passable now......the glitches....well.....ya.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1226d ago
waverider1227d ago

Gonna lose millions. Thats for sure. Try to explain a game launched after 8 years that got so many problems and isnt free....

RgR1227d ago (Edited 1227d ago )

Runs fine on the target platform and more powerful consoles.

Some bugs but that can happen.

They can show the game running on the preferred hardware and it will look absolutely gorgeous in court.

Fluttershy771227d ago

Apparently the game is a broken mess on PC too, but in any case the target platform was the platforms they decided to release the game for... They targeted the PS4/Xbox One audience and maybe they shouldn't have.

Stanjara1227d ago

Target was Ps4 and Xbox one aaaaand PC.
8 mill preorders, probably 5 mill on PS4.
That preferred hardware only came recently in a 3080...an that's what? 100k people? Probably less.
Oh and a PS5 and XBX which run last gen port.

ArchangelMike1227d ago

@RgR

Please explain what you mean by, "runs fine on the target platform."

Are you suggesting that PS4 and X1 were not the "target platform?" Then who was it that released Cyberpunk2077 on PS4 and X1? Oh wait... it was CDPR.

Now you understand why they are getting sued by investors. CDPR themselves said the game was targeting PS4 and X1. CDPR told investord that PS4 and X1 were target platforms, and that the game runs fine on those "target platforms." They straight up lied about that, and that's why they're getting sued. CDPR lied to get investment money. However, becasue of the true state of the game on those "target platforms" - investors lost a ton of money when the game released. Investors now want their money back. It's understandable.

The truth was that Cyberpunk 2077 runs like dog turd on PS4 and X1 - if CDPR had been honest and told the investors the truth from the start, heck if CDPR had told gamers from the start that the PS4 and X1 versions were not ready for release - they would not have had to issue refunds, and investors would not now be asking for their investment money back either.

This is why CDPR should have simply released the game on PC and next gen consoles, and then maybe worked on the last gen versions when it was ready. No way you cut it - they mismanaged the project, and misled investors. It's only right that if customers can get refunds on the game, then why can't the investors can get their money back as well.

waverider1227d ago

Really. I really cant understand how any gamer can say that. Try to defend them... They can show that. But lawyers just need to go to you tube and get hundreds of video showing how crap and buggy it really runs. A studio that doenst let review come out before the game is on the stores and doesnt let use capture video but what they sent.... Sorry, i hope the are force to pay hundreds of millions. This got to stop.

1227d ago
Seafort1227d ago

I've played and finished the game on PC. No crashes, a couple of bugs and some graphical glitches. No worse than any Bethesda game that launches.

It's a great game with really memorable characters throughout. It will get better over time and they will release great expansions like they did with Witcher 3. I'm looking forward to the game's future expansions and free content.

It should not have released on the previous consoles. They were 7 year old hardware and were underpowered as it was when they released.

CDPR should have launched on PC first then the new consoles in 2021. They are PC developers after all.

AuraAbjure1227d ago

That's buyer discrimination then. "Buy this product and it will work but buy that product and tough luck. By the way, we won't warn you of the severe defects with the other product in advance- on the contrary we will lead you to believe its high quality. Both products cost the same too."

yeahokwhatever1227d ago

"some bugs" doesnt even get close to how busted this product is. I freaking love this game, its incredibly fun, im already on my second play through and I never finish anything.. but the game is very, very buggy. I'm 100% certain this title did not pass QA, at all. Showstopping bugs were simply waved because of time constraints and the money dropped into advertising that you dont get to spend twice.

yeahokwhatever1227d ago

JustTheFax
"not one crash" HAHA liar. yes, im going to call you a liar with zero evidence. I'm on my second playthrough and this glorious masterpiece crashes every couple of hours. my friends on various other platforms all report similar experiences. great game, but you dont gotta lie to kick it.

Reefskye1227d ago (Edited 1227d ago )

@Stanjara 8mil pre orders 51% was pc alone 49% on every other platform, cdpr stated this a week or so ago, i run it on a 2060+9700k at 75fps 1440p patch 1.04 caused me a ton of crashes but it worked fine after a reinstall. Had like 5 bugs which have been fixed. I still get bugs on skyrim to this day quest breaking ones.
CDPR are pc develops pc is always there target platform.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 1227d ago
StoneyYoshi1227d ago

The game wasn't in development for 8 years. The game wasn't even in full development until the end of 2015 early 2016 after they released TW3: Hearts of Stone DLC which came out October 2015. 4-5 years is still no excuse but acting like its been in full development for 8 years is quite exaggerated.

IamFrasierCrane1226d ago

That’s ridiculous and only makes them look worse.

So not only did they pointlessly tease a game they weren’t working on for years, they hid how underdeveloped and lazily slopped together the game was in an attempt to take customers money and maybe fix the game later. Nice.

MetroidFREAK211227d ago

I hope this sets an example of what not to do with your game launches (release them half-assed)

Show all comments (102)
190°

Ninja Theory trends on X as gamers fear for studio following Tango Gameworks closure

Following the closure of 4 studios, many are now worried for the future of Ninja Theory once Hellblade 2 is released.

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videogamer.com
Sonic18812h ago(Edited 2h ago)

How is it going to sell well when it's also releasing on gamepass 🤔

Sephiroushin2h ago

Meant better to sell the studio and not closing it 🤦🏻 not to sell more games….
and games are sold anyways, you can buy it on xbox (not recommended if you got gamepass) but many pc gamers prefer to buy on steam than deal with the xbox app or pc gamepass!

On a side note to OP, the sales of studios wont happen though, especially when they want to retain the IPs, and well nobody is gonna buy a studios without its IPs; the other publishers that want a certain dev from the studio that are closing on their team can try to grab them as soon as they see they notice of the studio.

RaidenBlack19m ago(Edited 11m ago)

@Sephiroushin
Well hypothetically speaking, Ninja Theory can be sold to Sony at a lower rate sans the Hellblade IP.
Sony can then welcome them to work on the Heavenly Sword IP, which they still own.
Will be a nice proposition for Sony who can continue to offer a God of War-like hack n slash in their portfolio via Heavenly Sword 2, whilst Cory Barlog & co. decides to take a break from the God of War IP & venture some other genres.
On top of that, Ninja Theory was also interested in a sequel to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and such Sony can come to a deal with Namco Bandai regarding the Enslaved IP.

Lightning7720h ago

Because they're next come next year. HB2 won't hit some impossible metric within MS so they're getting axed in 2025. Leave gaming now MS.

XiNatsuDragnel11h ago

Ninja theory might as well be gone in 2025 at this rate

notachance3h ago

Every xbox studio is in danger now because there’s just no way they’re gonna rake in big money from game sales because of gamepass, even CoD was rumored to not come to gamepass because it would canibalize their sales number.

neutralgamer19921h ago

If they are smart they don’t put COD on GP day one. It’s one of the best selling games on yearly basis

Hofstaderman51m ago

Satya will make sure that doesnt happen. As you rightly put it; why kill the cash cow?

But then again, it is MS after all.....

Rynxie2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Ninja theory games were never big sellers. I could be wrong, but I doubt hellblade 2 will sell millions. I would rather they go independent and make heavenly sword 2.

solideagle2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

heavenly sword is Sony owned IP. this will never happen as original didn't sell enough...

Wikipedia: "In 2008, it was reported that a sequel to Heavenly Sword was in-development at SCE Studio Cambridge, but was canceled due to Sony no longer seeing it as a commercially viable product"

Show all comments (22)
50°

The Best Telltale Games: Top 5

Telltale Games have given gamers a massive library of narrative driven games. In this article, Power Up Gaming presents you some of the best Telltale Games of all time!

Read Full Story >>
powerupgaming.co.uk
190°

EA says largest Battlefield team yet is building ‘another tremendous live service’

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson stated in a recent EA Earnings Call, that the next Battlefield "it is going to be another tremendous live service.”

Read Full Story >>
videogameschronicle.com
-Foxtrot1d 13h ago

Another? ANOTHER?

Is he honestly trying to make out like the last Battlefield was a huge success, not just as a game but as a live service game? I'm sure these guys live in their own echo chambers, they are so far removed from reality or they just like talking out of their arse trying to rewrite history.

Also why say such a tone deaf statement when you know the state of live service games at the minute and how many gamers feel about them. Bigging up the next BF game as live service does not give me any excitement or hype.

LordoftheCritics1d 10h ago

''is building ‘another tremendous LIE service’''

/Fixed

just_looken10h ago

This is nothing too new
https://www.eurogamer.net/e...

They had plans of a universe of live service games

Also these studios made 2042 there is no new massive team its the same team
https://www.eurogamer.net/t...

Well same team minus the seattle boys that were canned
https://gamerant.com/ea-bat...

This is all again same news different year but it seems very few remember what happened before covid.

RaidenBlack1d 12h ago

Just make another Battlefield 2 ... or BadCompany 3 ... EA

XiNatsuDragnel1d 12h ago

Bad company 3 instead of live service bs

Relientk771d 12h ago

And already lost interest

Pass

Show all comments (15)