When Cyberpunk 2077 was first pulled from the PlayStation Store more than 100 days ago, there was some question as to whether that was a decision made by Sony, or if developer CD Projekt RED had a hand in its removal. A recent investor call with CDPR seems to put the full weight on Sony, saying that the final decision for Cyberpunk 2077 returning to the PlayStation Store rests in Sony’s hands.
When asked about the game returning to the PlayStation Store, SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski said “We have published several patches. We have just published a really big one yesterday and we have published several hotfixes. Each and every one of them brings us closer to going back to the PSN store. However, the final decision, you have to understand, belongs to Sony. We do believe we’re closer than further, but of course, the final call is theirs, so let’s wait and see.
After Cyberpunk 2077 was first removed from the PlayStation Store, wording from CD Projekt RED seemed to dance around the issue, trying to make it seem like an decision that they came to with Sony. After all, it would be a bad look for a platform to entirely remove one of the most anticipated and high-profile games ever because of something CD Projekt RED, a public company, did wrong.
Broad assumptions indicated that Sony had made the unilateral decision to pull it after being upset with how the developer mishandled refunds amid the botched launch and outcry from disappointed PS4 players. Sony has let plenty of other poor quality, buggy, and broken games exist on its storefront, and Cyberpunk 2077 wasn’t removed from any other platforms, so the most logical reason behind it is most likely owing to how CD Projekt RED put Sony on the hook for refunds, probably breaking a number of agreements between the two companies in the process.
Nowakowski’s statement not only says that Sony has the final say on when Cyberpunk 2077 comes back to the PlayStation Store, but also seems to confirm that it was indeed Sony who made the initial decision to pull it. Neither Sony nor CD Projekt RED have clearly stated what the criteria is for getting the game back on the PlayStation Store, and even with this update, there’s no solid timeframe on when the game might be made available for purchase via the PlayStation Store again.
CDPR recently committed to an entirely new strategic development plan, restructuring the studio in such a way that it focuses on the workforce and makes development more efficient to prevent problems like those it experienced with Cyberpunk 2077. They are also working on the next-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077, set for the latter half of 2021, and it’s not yet clear if the PS4 version will return to the store prior to that happening.
[Via: GameSpot]
