The launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was a disaster. The game was delayed from its initial release date in January, resulting in eager players waiting nearly a full calendar year to play a game that already been highly anticipated for the past seven years. When it did release in December, the game was nearly unplayable on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One... which were the consoles the game had been initially slated to release on. Even if you are playing it on a PS5, PC or Xbox Series X, bugs and glitches plague the experience. As such, it's of little surprise that the dismal quality the game was delivered in has finally resulted in a class-action lawsuit against CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk's Poland-based developer.

Big-budget video games are no stranger to the class-action lawsuit. Fallout 76 received one soon after it's release in an attempt to compensate players who were subject to an allegedly unfair return policy. The suit was dropped sometime thereafter, but there is a notable difference between it and the current litigation facing Projekt Red; the former was on behalf of customers. The lawsuit against the makers of Cyberpunk is being filed on behalf of the company's investors, specifically those who purchased stock in the company.

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The company's stock price peaked on December 4 at 443 Polish złoty (the equivalent of $120). The next week would see plenty of critical reviews for Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the game's official release on December 10. This barrage of negative press pushed down the stock price, eventually dropping to 256 złoty (roughly $69). Of course, stock drops like this aren't unheard of. Several gaming companies (including Nintendo and Microsoft) saw their stock price drop as a result of the start of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in March, and none of those drops caused lawsuits from shareholders.

This particular stock plunge prompted the lawsuit because it can be seen (at least in part) as a result of potentially misleading statements made by CD Projekt Red. The company stated in January of 2020 that the game was "complete and playable." In April, the company further justified its decision to delay the game to November by saying it was a part of "ensuring that customers receive a top-quality product." The game was delayed a further three weeks in November. During that time, CEO Adam Kiciński made further statements to ensure the game's quality, including that Projekt Red "[believed] the game [was] performing great on every platform," as well as that there was "nothing wrong with Xbox or PS4 versions." These statements conflict because players did not find the game satisfactory, demanding refunds en masse and causing Sony to remove the game from its virtual storefront altogether.

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The lawsuit is trying to prove that if CD Projekt Red had been more forthcoming with their original statements, shareholders might have either not bought their stock in the company or sold their existing shares at an earlier date. This would have prevented the massive loss in capital they incurred when the price dived in December. As such, the suit is seeking recompense for the money lost by each member of the "class" (anyone who bought stock when these misleading claims were made). The specific amount might vary, but if granted would likely include the difference in stock price as well as attorney fees, experts' fees and "any other fees the court might deem proper."

There are many factors involved in determining whether CD Projekt Red will have to pay up, but the result is unlikely to be meaningful to the average player of Cyberpunk 2077 unless they happen to own stock in the company. It's also unlikely that any fees incurred would bankrupt the developer, as they've managed to sell over 13 million copies of the game in the scant three weeks it's been on the market. The greatest harm to Projekt Red is harm to its reputation. This lawsuit is just a rather substantial insult to add to the injury the company has already done to itself.

Developed by CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia and PC.

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