CD Projekt Red has reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by investors over the rocky launch of Cyberpunk 2077. The Polish game developer will pay out $1.85 million to eligible class members, which are defined as investors who purchased CD Projekt Red stock between January 16, 2020 and December 17, 2020. The settlement sum will also cover “settlement administration costs, taxes, attorney’s fees and costs,” among other things. The lawsuit was filed in 2020, with investors alleging that CD Projekt Red had hidden the state of Cyberpunk 2077 from them, resulting in financial losses.
Released in December 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was plagued with bugs and glitches, leading to Sony removing the game from its store. CD Projekt Red released patches to fix the issues, and the game was later added back to the PlayStation storefront. In addition to the investor lawsuit, CD Projekt Red also faced criticism from players and a separate lawsuit from a shareholder over the game’s troubled launch.
The rocky launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was a major blow to CD Projekt Red, which had spent years developing the highly anticipated game. The company had faced pressure to deliver a hit after the success of its previous game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which won numerous awards and sold over 28 million copies.
The settlements may also be seen as a cautionary tale for other game developers, as the gaming industry continues to grow and attract more attention from investors. The success or failure of a game can have major consequences for a company’s stock price, and investors will be looking for transparency and honesty from game developers when it comes to the development and launch of their products.
When Cyberpunk 2077 was released on December 10, 2020 the company’s stock value was around $22.88 USD (12/11/2020) and sharply declined to $18.31 USD by December 31st 2020. The company’s stock value continued to decline all the way down to $4.19 on September 2, 2022. After hitting that low point, the stock has slowly been on the incline and is currency valued at $7.02 at the time of this article being posted.
Cyberpunk 2077 is set in a dystopian future where advanced technology has changed the world and people’s relationships with each other. Players take on the role of V, a mercenary who is searching for a way to become immortal. The game allows players to make choices that will impact the story and world around them.
Despite the controversies surrounding its launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has proven to be a commercial success, selling over 13 million copies and earning over $1 billion in revenue. The game received numerous accolades and was praised for its immersive open-world, complex character customization, and branching storylines. Cyberpunk 2077 also was a winner in the Steam Awards 2022 for the Labor of Love category.
The game’s first expansion, Phantom Liberty, is set to be released in 2023. It will reportedly feature new characters, missions, and locations, as well as new gameplay mechanics. CD Projekt Red has not provided many details about the expansion, but it is expected to add more content to the already massive game.
CD Projekt Red is also reportedly working on The Witcher 4, the next installment in the popular RPG series. The game has not been officially announced, and it is unclear when it will be released. However, it is expected to be a major project for the company and could potentially be even bigger than Cyberpunk 2077.
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