A CD Projekt investor has reportedly called for the resignation of its top executives over their notorious handling of Cyberpunk 2077’s release. CD Projekt Red’s 2020 action RPG was launched to extremely mixed reception, which stemmed from an overwhelming amount of game-breaking bugs and poor performance on consoles, leading to the game’s removal from the PlayStation Store, where it's still yet to return.
The controversial release of the game drew the ire of both fans and investors, and the company became the target of multiple class action lawsuits as a result of Cyberpunk 2077's release state and post-launch controversies. Six months on from the game’s release, Cyberpunk 2077 continues to receive slow-but-steady patches aimed at fixing the numerous issues plaguing the game, moving it ever closer to what was initially promised by the developer pre-launch. However, it has still yet to be deemed fit for a return to the PlayStation Store, a digital platform absence that may have contributed to Cyberpunk 2077's poor Q1 sales.
As reported by Bloomberg, UK-based investment firm Abri Advisors demands for the resignation of CD Projekt’s CEO Adam Kiciński and co-founder Marcin Iwiński. Abri Advisors CEO Jeffrey Tirman apparently expressed his displeasure with CD Projekt's management, attributing the investment firm’s call to action to CD Projekt’s Q1 2020 sales results. Tirman is reported to have stated, “I don’t think you could have intentionally tried to make so many mistakes as these guys have made.” The Polish game development company, responsible for the critically acclaimed and highly regarded Witcher series has lost over 60% of its stock value, totaling $6.2 billion since the release of Cyberpunk 2077.
CD Projekt reported a whopping net loss of $8.8 million for Q1 2021, a shortfall that starkly contrasts with the publisher's launch Cyberpunk 2077 revenues. While it's unspecified how many shares Abri Advisors holds in CD Projekt, Tirman has been reported to say that he will seek other shareholders' assistance to replace the company’s board of directors should Adam Kiciński and Marcin Iwiński refuse to step down. CD Projekt's Marcin Iwiński and brothers Adam and Michal Kiciński collectively own 34% of the company’s shares, with the largest stakeholders outside of the trio being a Polish pension fund that owns a much lower 4.2% share.
While developer CD Projekt Red has remained adamant that it will continue to fix Cyberpunk 2077, it's clear from this latest investor demand that there are still many who don’t believe the improvements thus far have been enough. The developer’s roadmap for the game reveals the release of a free next-gen console upgrade, as well as the release of DLCs, by the end of 2021. These offerings, coupled with the long-awaited return of the game on the PlayStation Store, could turn the tide at least a bit for the Cyberpunk 2077 publisher and developer.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia.
Source: Bloomberg