[UPDATE: In an emergency December 14 board meeting, publisher CD Projekt clarified the specifics of the Cyberpunk 2077 refund situation for console players, stating:
"One has to understand: Microsoft and Sony have refund policies for every product that is released digitally on their storefronts. 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."
The original story continues below.]
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has publicly apologized for the state of the base PS4 and Xbox One version of the game at launch and is offering refunds to dissatisfied players. The critical response to Cyberpunk 2077 has been mostly positive, but there is no denying that the game launched with a large number of glitches and technical issues, most of which are only worse on any hardware less powerful than the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.
The number of bugs in Cyberpunk 2077 is so high that #Cyberpunk2077bugs has been trending on Twitter, as fans have been sharing their most baffling and amusing errors on social media. Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed several times over the past year, and the fan consensus is that it should have been pushed back to 2021, as it's in dire need of more polish. It was widely rumored these delays were due to the vanilla PS4 and original Xbox One/Xbox One S simply not being powerful enough to run the game, and the game's pre-launch marketing noticeably skipped these base model consoles despite showing PS4 Pro and Xbox One X gameplay in addition to PS5 and Xbox Series X footage.
The PS4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk 2077 are the worst by far, to the point where Sony is already issuing refunds to PS4 players. CD Projekt Red has made an official statement about the Cyberpunk 2077 launch situation with one of its infamous yellow letter posts. According to a tweet on the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter page, CD Projekt Red is sorry for "not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before it premiered" and not paying "more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One," and announces that "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" by emailing studio's customer service at helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com.
The post confirms that a new round of updates will be released within the next week, and that two major patches will be released in the new year, with one coming in January, and the other in February. The developer and publisher wants fans to give Cyberpunk 2077 a chance, but claims to understand why people wouldn't be satisfied with the game as it is now. So far the fan response has been a mix of the expected memes and frustration, but nearly 200,000 likes on the tweet at the time of writing signals that many seem satisfied with this gesture of good faith by CDPR despite the lead-up and circumstances.
The fan response to the last Cyberpunk 2077 delay was vitriolic, as it happened shortly before the game was meant to be released. It's clear that the game needed more time in development, in order to ensure that it launched in an acceptable state. A few bugs and glitches in a game at launch are common, especially for a massive open-world title like Cyberpunk 2077, but the quality of the PS4 and Xbox One ports are unacceptable for many. Cyberpunk 2077 may not have been ultimately delayed further, but the end result is the same for anyone wanting the intended experience on their platform(s) of choice.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia, and it will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021.
Source: CD Projekt Red