It’s only been a week since Cyberpunk 2077 launched, but the state of the game even after a Day 1 patch and subsequent “hotfix” have had gamers furious enough to desire refunds. Unfortunately, those desires are apparently being equally frustrated.
Three days ago, CD Projekt RED released an image statement on Twitter, apologizing for not showing the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as laying out the patch roadmap. They also indicated that they completely understood if people weren’t interested in waiting for the game to be fixed and would prefer a refund. The message indicated digital purchases through PSN or the Xbox Store would need to be handled through the respective storefronts, while boxed copies should be returned through the appropriate retailers. If those vendors would not provide a refund, CDPR listed an email address (helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com) which would be open to contact until December 21.
But gamers attempting to obtain refunds are not finding much success. Sony’s refund policy only permits refunds within 14 days of purchase. In the case of pre-orders, refunds are granted up to the release date. Once that date passes, PS4 players are out of luck. Sony’s policy also states that once the title has been downloaded, it cannot be refunded, despite how little it has been played. Microsoft users seem to have had slightly better luck, but it still seems like the bulk of the player base has not been successful.
During an emergency investor call the day after the apology statement, Michal Nowakowsk, CDPR’s Senior VP of Business Development, indicated refunds were not as simple as requesting one from the platform holder. “One has to understand: Microsoft and Sony have refund policies for every product that is released digitally on their storefronts,” Nowakowsk said. “Despite several articles I’ve seen that things are being set up just for us, it’s actually not true – these policies are in place and have always been in place; they’re not offered specifically for us.”
Kotaku has reported that inquiries to the email address are now receiving a reply either pointing towards the Xbox Store refund page or simply saying, “Please wait for us to get back to you,” if the purchase was made on PSN. CDPR has promised it will respond to all inquiries “no later than by the end of 2020, with information regarding next steps.”
