Cyberpunk 2077, originally released in September 2020, has been a source of controversy since its launch. It was widely anticipated since its first announcement in 2012, with trailers dropping and different news keeping it relevant over the years. Cyberpunk 2077 made waves with its futuristic designs, celebrity appearances, and promises of exciting open-world action. However, when it was released, it had so many bugs and problems that it prompted investigations and class-action lawsuits into developer company CD Projekt Red, as well as wide disapproval. Console editions, in particular, were riddled with issues, so Cyberpunk was pulled from the PlayStation Store back in December 2020.
On June 21, 2021, CD Projekt Red announced that the game would return to the PlayStation Store, but with a warning- the game is still not bug-free. As they released the news, CD Projekt Red admitted that players who want to play Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation 4 may still experience performance issues. “Users may continue to experience some performance issues with the PS4 edition while we continue to improve stability across all platforms. The PS4 Pro and PS5 versions of the game will provide the best experience on PlayStation.”
This news came with the bells and whistles of a free upgrade to a PS5 version coming later in 2021, but concerningly the game is still not fixed and not recommended for play on the base PS4 system. According to the PlayStation Store, the game is only recommended for play on PS4 Pro and PS5 systems, and it also offers a $10 price reduction on the game.
This update does not bode well for the future of Cyberpunk 2077. The ongoing bugs and issues that have not been fixed only pushed to newer consoles, cannot be overlooked. The game is popular enough, recently boasting 600 million total hours played, but it should not set an example of how games, bugs, players, and developers should be treated going forward in the industry.