Cyberpunk 2077 refunds are as big a mess as the game is
Yesterday, CD Projekt Red issued a statement in which it apologized for the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk 2077. While the game has received criticism for bugs, glitches, and crashing issues on PC, the Cyberpunk 2077 experience on base PS4 and Xbox One consoles is particularly flawed, with poor framerates, stability, and graphics pretty much across the board. In that statement yesterday, it seemed as if CD Projekt Red was instructing users who are unhappy with the console version to get their purchases refunded, but now it looks like that wasn't actually the case.
As it turns out, it appears that neither Sony nor Microsoft are deviating from their standard refund policies for Cyberpunk 2077. On Xbox, that may not be a big deal, because Microsoft does allow users to place refund requests within 14 days after the date of purchase. On PlayStation, though, that same 14-day rule is in effect, with the added caveat that players lose refund eligibility once they begin to download or stream a game.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 14, 2020
Obviously, a good number of PlayStation 4 players likely downloaded the game and took it for a spin before deciding to refund it, which would make them ineligible to receive a refund under normal circumstances. Indeed, there are a number of PlayStation 4 owners sharing their experiences with Sony support on Twitter and Reddit, saying they've been declined refunds even though CD Projekt Red instructed users to get their games refunded if they were unhappy and didn't want to wait.
The statement CD Projekt Red published, which is also embedded in the tweet above, had this to say about refunds:
Finally, we would always like everyone who buys our games to be satisfied with their purchase. We would appreciate it if you would give us a chance, but if you are not pleased with the game on your console and don't want to wait for updates, you can opt to refund your copy. For copies purchased digitally, please use the refund system of PSN or Xbox respectively. For boxed versions, please first try to get a refund at the store where you bought the game. Should this not be possible, please contact us at helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com and we will do our best to help you. Starting from today, you can contact us for a week up until December 21st, 2020.
That's a fairly straightforward statement, but in an emergency call with an investors (a transcript of which can be found at CD Projekt Red's investors site) that happened overnight, CD Projekt Red said there is, in fact, no exception being made for Cyberpunk 2077 outside of Sony and Microsoft's usual rules, and that the company would prefer gamers wait for Cyberpunk 2077 to be improved on consoles.
"We are not encouraging gamers to return the game; we hope they'll give us a chance to improve it on old-gen consoles," CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński said. Later on in the call, CD Projekt senior vice president of business development Michał Nowakowski suggested that it's ultimately up to Sony and Microsoft when it comes to whether or not refunds will be offered.
"One has to understand: Microsoft and Sony have refund policies for every product that is released digitally on their storefronts," Nowakowski 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. Anyone who has purchased any title on the PlayStation Network or the Microsoft storefront can ask for a refund, and if it's made within certain boundaries, usually related to time, usage and so on, can ask for that refund. Our procedure here with Microsoft and Sony is not different than with any other title released on any of those storefronts. I want to state that clearly, as there seem to be certain misconceptions."
So, that more or less settles the confusion at this point – players can get Cyberpunk 2077 refunded, but only within Sony and Microsoft's own refund policies if those players purchased the game digitally. Those who were thinking that CD Projekt Red had made special arrangements to allow refunds on PS4 and Xbox One after yesterday's statement (like we did) were apparently mistaken. Therefore, you're going to attempt to get a refund for your console copy, good luck, because whether or not you get it is up to Sony and Microsoft, not CD Projekt Red.