The eternally troubled Cyberpunk 2077 will no longer have its special refund policy on Xbox after the first week of July. Cyberpunk 2077 is starting to be welcomed back as CD Projekt Red makes further improvements to the controversial RPG that launched at the end of 2020. That said, it still has quite a ways to go.
Cyberpunk 2077 had a pretty historic launch, but not in the way that many expected it to. The game was wrought with bugs and performance issues, particularly on last-gen consoles. It made mainstream news and led CDPR and platform holders such as Microsoft to offer full refunds for the game. Sony even pulled the title from the PlayStation Store, something little to no AAA games have experienced, especially at this scale. Now, Cyberpunk 2077 has returned to the PlayStation Store with a big warning noting that the game is still quite rocky on the standard PS4. CDPR stripped a lot out of the game to make it run at a more stable frame rate, making it quite hollow in the process.
Now, Microsoft also appears to be loosening up a bit on the game (via The Verge). Microsoft promised full refunds to anyone who bought Cyberpunk 2077 on the Microsoft Store and wasn't satisfied with the product until further notice. Typically, Microsoft has a time limit to prevent anyone from squeezing a lot of playtime out of a game and then getting their money back. The generous exception made for Cyberpunk 2077 from Microsoft will be reverted on July 6, meaning that players will be subjected to the standard refund policy after that date.
Fans are still unhappy with Cyberpunk 2077, but the studio still plans to support it throughout 2021, with a current-gen version slated for the second half of the year. Cyberpunk 2077 is also expected to get new updates and expansions in the coming months, but it's unclear what the scope or scale of these will be. There had been rumblings of a multiplayer spin-off, similar to GTA Online, though it's unclear if that's actually going to happen anymore following the launch of 2077.
Microsoft and Sony can't be expected to protect the game forever, especially if it's possibly costing them, so it makes sense that all of the weight is solely on CD Projekt Red to get it right from here on out. Many have already called for the resignations of those in charge of Cyberpunk 2077 following its rushed launch, especially after they collected large bonuses while the team had to work hard to clean up the mess they were forced to make. Whether or not Cyberpunk 2077 will ever be in an acceptable state on last-gen consoles remains to be seen, but it's seeming increasingly unlikely.
Source: The Verge