Technology

Sometimes bugs don’t need Doom

There’s a graveyard for games (and some studio reputations) that were released with so many bugs they were barely playable, but, for some, there is life after death.

02 May 2024

Cyberpunk 2077

In December 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was released. To say the game was anticipated is an understatement. The studio, CD Projekt Red, had made a name for itself with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Keanu Reeves was the ghost of Johnny Silverhand and the world was still dealing with the pandemic. Come launch date, the game sold more than 13 million copies, becoming one of the most successful game launches in history. Within 24 hours of launch, the game had made back its $300 million budget – even with the volume of refunds demanded by players after they realised the game was almost unplayable. Cyberpunk 2077 was a carnival of glitches – gardens inside buildings, genitals outside clothes, characters driving around without trousers.

Console gamers could barely play it. Sony pulled the game from its digital store and CD Projekt Red paid $1.85 million to shareholders in a class-action lawsuit that was finalised a year after the game was released.

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