CD Projekt Red Settles 'Cyberpunk 2077' Lawsuit To Tune Of $1.85 Million

It's hard to believe it's been a year since the release of Cyberpunk 2077, marking one of the most abjectly terrible launches for a game in modern history. The release had a number of issues, none as glaring as the game's abysmal performance on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One alongside its many infamous glitches. For those hyped about the game, its virtually unplayable state on the most widely available consoles was enough for gamers to say "CD Projekt Red will pay for this." Now, it appears that they have.

CD Projekt Red settled a lawsuit with disappointed investors in the game to the tune of $1.85 million. At the time of the game's release, investors sued CD Projekt Red with the statement:

(1) Cyberpunk 2077 was virtually unplayable on the current-generation Xbox or Playstation systems due to an enormous number of bugs; (2) as a result, Sony would remove Cyberpunk 2077 from the Playstation store, and Sony, Microsoft and CD Projekt would be forced to offer full refunds for the game; (3) consequently, CD Projekt would suffer reputational and pecuniary harm; and (4) as a result, defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

On December 16th, CD Projekt Red released an update on the lawsuit. The statement is very much legal jargon, but the key takeaway is that CD Projekt Red's reason for the settlement was to avoid heightening costs of legal fees.

While $1.85 million may sound like a large number, some have argued that, in context, it's actually quite tiny in comparison to the Cyberpunk 2077 budget. The game cost over $316 million to make, which was recouped within the game's first day out. The Verge opined that the settlement seemed small, and wondered if the fact the lawsuit was filed on behalf of shareholders instead of players meant the plaintiffs didn't have much of a case.