The Cyberpunk 2077 class action lawsuit may soon be over
The ongoing saga of Cyberpunk 2077 is one of great ups and downs. The long-awaited PS5 and Xbox Series X versions were delayed into 2022 and, while the state of the game has improved dramatically over the past year, it's still far from great, or even properly finished. Despite that, the impression of the game has turned around dramatically: The Steam version has been flooded with positive user reviews, and it was actually nominated for two Game Awards. (Neither of which it won, by the way.)
The situation also appears to be looking up on other fronts, specifically the one where CD Projekt got sued over "false and/or misleading statements" about Cyberpunk 2077's playability on previous-generation consoles. The first lawsuit, filed in December 2020, noted that CD Projekt CEO Adam Kaciński had said the game runs "surprisingly well" on PS4 and Xbox One consoles in the weeks prior to its release, a statement that turned out to be not quite accurate. Initial Cyberpunk 2077 sales were very good, but CD Projekt's share price took a major tumble in the weeks following its launch, blamed on bugs and technical issues that forced refund offers from Sony, Microsoft, and CD Projekt itself, and the removal of the game from the PlayStation Store. That suit was consolidated along with three others into one in May 2021.
That legal action may soon wrap up with a reasonably happy ending for all involved, however. The studio announced earlier this week that the proceedings in that case have been put on hold because a settlement is being negotiated instead. If all involved can come to an agreement, the settlement will be presented to the court for approval.
Naturally, CD Projekt also pointed out that agreeing to a settlement doesn't mean it's copping to anything: "Entering into negotiations concerning a potential settlement should in no way be construed as acceptance by the Company or members of its Management Board of any allegations expressed in the plaintiffs’ court filings," it said. Fair enough, I suppose.
More important than wrapping things up in court, though, is that CD Projekt isn't walking away from Cyberpunk 2077. The next major update is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2022, after which we'll hopefully start seeing the long-overdue DLC and expansion.
Thanks, VGC.