'Cyberpunk 2077' Developer Apologizes for Disappointing Console Performance and Glitches (UPDATE)

CD Projekt Red's much-anticipated 'Cyberpunk 2077' is finally here, and perhaps unsurprisingly the game has come in incredibly hot with plenty of glitches. 

Cyberpunk 2077
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Image via Getty/Ina Fassbender

Cyberpunk 2077

UPDATED 12/14, 9:30 a.m. ET: Following the negative response to the rough launch of Cyberpunk 2077, developer CD Projekt Red addressed the situation in an apologetic statement.

"First of all, we would like to start by apologizing to you for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before it premiered and, in consequence, not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase," reads the statement. "We should have paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One."

Digital Foundry, which does extensive performance analysis of video games, revealed that the game would consistently fail to reach its 30fps target on PS4 and could even dip as low as 15. Xbox One users have reported similiar issues.

"Second, we will fix bugs and crashes, and improve the overall experience," the statement continues. In the days following the game's release, #Cyberbug 2077 began trending on Twitter, with many complaining of glitches both minor and game-breaking. "The first round of updates has just been released and the next one is coming with the next 7 days. Expect more, as we will update frequently whenever new improvements are ready."

The team has promised further "large patches" to come starting in January, with another to follow in February. "Together these should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles," the statement reads. "They won't make the game on last-gen look like it's running on a high-spec PC or next-gen console, but it will be closer to that experience than it is now."

With so many gamers unhappy with the game as it currently stands, the company has also offered to help with refunds. "For copies purchased digitally, please use the refund system of PSN or Xbox respectively," the company has said. "For boxed version, please first try to get a refund at the store where you bought the game."

Less than a week after the game's release, the user score on Metacritic for the game is 6.9 on PC, 3.8 on Xbox One, and as low as 2.9 on PlayStation 4. 

See original story below.

CD Projekt Red's much-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 is finally here, and perhaps unsurprisingly the game has come in incredibly hot with plenty of glitches. As with any project of its scope, the open-world RPG has arrived with myriad problems. Not only are there glitches ranging from amusing visual bugs to the rare game-breaking issue, but Cyberpunk 2077 has also been running particuarly poorly on PS4 and Xbox One consoles.

As Polygon pointed out, players have been sharing their experiences on social media following its release this week, and the reactions range from amusement to outrage. Many purchasers have expressed their enthusiasm for the world and praised the gameplay, although they've still been hitting glitches. Anyone who has ever played an Elder Scrolls or Fallout game will no doubt be familiar with these types of experiences.

But perhaps the most damning complaint is the performance on base PS4 and Xbox One consoles, with the game struggling to maintain its target framerate of 30fps. Both of these 2013-released consoles appear to be no match for the scope of Cyberpunk 2077, which was designed with more modern hardware in mind. There's also some data streaming issues on these consoles, likely due to the restrictions of the hard drives vs. the new consoles' and most PC players' solid state drives. Some players have taken to Reddit to express how frustrated they are with the product on consoles, calling it an "unfinished" mess.

While it's not surprising that some concessions had to be made to allow the game to run on what is essentially now ancient hardware, it's disappointing to see regardless. Early reviewers for the release, which has a score of 90 on Metacritic, were only provided the PC version, which means the performance on consoles has come as a shock to many expecting to play the game at launch without issues.

CD Projekt Red could still update Cyberpunk later down the line to improve performance, and there is a free PS5 and Xbox Series X update on the way. For now, many are stuck with a clunky glimpse into what players with a PC powerful enough to run the game are actually enjoying.

It's worth pointing out the project was delayed numerous times throughout development, and from the look of things, they could've down with even more time. As Jason Schreier reported for Bloomberg in September, the Polish game developer allegedly ordered six-day work weeks as mandatory leading up to the launch. This was also before the game was pushed back one last time, from November to December.

Check out some videos of the performance, and the more entertaining visual glitches, below.

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