Polish business newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna has reported that UOKiK, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is investigating CD Projekt Red regarding Cyberpunk 2077 amid the game’s rough launch and other issues with bugs and glitches. When the game launched last month, many were shocked with how bad the experience was on the base PS4 and Xbox One platforms. It became such big deal that PlayStation removed the game from their store and offered refunds. The game is riddled with lots of bugs and glitches that CD Projekt Red is still fixing. Over the holidays, CD Projekt Red also got handed a class-action lawsuit filed against them.
“We approach the entrepreneur to explain the problems with the game and the actions he has taken,” Malgorzata Cieloch, press spokesman of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection said. “We will check how the manufacturer is working on introducing corrections or solving difficulties that prevent the game from playing on different consoles, but also how it intends to act in relation to people who have submitted complaints and are dissatisfied with the purchase due to the inability to play the game on their equipment despite the manufacturer’s earlier assurances.”
Analyzing what UOKiK can do against CD Projekt Red, attorney-at-law and partner at Kaszubiak Jedrzejko Dominik Jedrzejko said that in his opinion, even a policy of accepting returns and fixing the game immediately may not cover unfair market practice for which there is administrative responsibility. The UOKiK may impose a fine of up to 10%.
“Unfortunately, the decision obliging the president of UOKiK is not always guaranteed if the entrepreneur wants it, and impressing the income, it encourages the penalty,” Jedrzejko said. “This shows that you cannot market digital products completely detached from reality and you cannot distort the facts about the product.”