Cyberpunk 2077 just marked a 100-day milestone regarding its removal from the PlayStation Store. While Sony and CD Projekt Red haven't provided any updates, Cyberpunk 2077 fans have been looking for evidence to speculate what is going on behind the scenes.
Gamers using base-model PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles found little to love in the console port of Cyberpunk 2077. If players could stomach frequent crashes and game-breaking bugs, they would find a game that was unoptimized for the last console generation. Buyers were especially frustrated because CD Projekt Red had only allowed reviewers to play the game's PC version in advance, leaving them unprepared for the console release.
RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077 Meme Pokes Fun at the Way V Sleeps in a Bed
To appease disappointed fans, CD Projekt Red encouraged them to get refunds. It remained unclear who would foot the bill for them, since some players purchased physical copies and others downloaded them. In an unusual move, PlayStation stepped in to give refunds to anyone who had downloaded the PS4 version of the game from the PlayStation Store, while removing the game from the store.
Many observers assumed CD Prokekt Red would get the game up to a quality that PlayStation would accept quickly. However, while CD Projekt Red is releasing updates in line with its announced roadmap for Cyberpunk 2077, that does not include an explicit time at which the game will return to the PlayStation Store. The recently announced Version 1.2 will fix some gameplay issues, such as the way police respond to player crimes, but it is unknown whether the update will improve performance on PS4.
One possibility is that CD Projekt Red has sidelined the console versions of the game indefinitely. Following the hype of its launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has had very poor sales on consoles in the months since. Given that the game has an active PC player base and a growing modding community, it would be understandable for CD Projekt Red to give up on the PS4 version. A next-generation PS5 version is still planned for later this year, so the developers could cut their losses and simply focus on optimizing the game for PS5. By the year's end, far more gamers may have PS5s, setting up that version to have a decently-sized player base.
On the other hand, it's possible that CD Projekt Red is preparing to announce more details about improving the PS4 version at a later date. Given the game just had several alleged DLC expansions leaked, it's entirely possible that CD Projekt Red will announce PS4-focused updates at the same time as it announces more details about the DLC. In spite of all of the game's issues, there are many console players who have enjoyed it, and would appreciate a better-running game sooner or later.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.