A new report on Cyberpunk 2077 developers revealed they're just as frustrated and angry as consumers and have been voicing their displeasure, at least during one internal video meeting conducted earlier this week. Cyberpunk 2077's launch has been a complete disaster for CD Projekt Red, as the game is riddled with bugs on console versions, something that was deliberately hidden from fans during the Cyberpunk 2077 review period thanks to careful code management from the developer that saw only PC codes - by far the most stable version of the game, though still quite buggy - be distributed for review prior to release.
It isn't just launch issues for Cyberpunk 2077 that has been at the center of the discussion regarding CD Projekt Red's company policies, however. Well before fans ever realized they'd be playing a game that randomly renders characters both naked and T-Posing, there were serious allegations about CD Projekt Red crunch culture. Reports surfaced in September that the company was instituting a mandatory six-day workweek to help launch Cyberpunk 2077 on time, and the developer never properly addressed the situation. Given the Cyberpunk 2077 harassment that targeted the game's development staff due to delays, it's especially notable how silent CD Projekt Red has been about overworking employees.
A report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier revealed that CD Projekt Red developers have been voicing just how frustrated they are with how management has handled both the game's development and launch. Schreier, who was also responsible for breaking the story on CD Projekt Red crunch practices leading up to launch, sourced details on the internal meeting through anonymous employees who attended, and it's clear that staff are equally baffled by CD Projekt Red management decisions. One staff member apparently asked why the game was described as "complete and playable" in January when that was a lie, while another was reported as asking if management felt it was hypocritical to demand its employees crunch to complete a game about corporate exploitation.
The Bloomberg report also highlights CD Projekt Red management's answers, which were "vague and noncommital" about crunch practices despite also promising to "take responsibility" about the previously mentioned January statement about playability. CD Projekt Red's messaging about the game has been so inconsistent and misleading that Sony yanked Cyberpunk 2077 off the PlayStation Store following an influx of fans seeking refunds, and Microsoft has since expanded the Xbox Cyberpunk 2077 refund policy.
The fact that Cyberpunk 2077 developers are just as frustrated by the game's terrible launch as fans are isn't surprising. One thing that should now be abundantly clear to anyone who had previously defended crunch as a necessary evil is that it isn't guaranteed to suddenly make a game the next big thing - or even, in the case of Cyberpunk 2077, to result in a finished game. Hopefully, the many mistakes CD Projekt Red management made on Cyberpunk 2077 can at least be used to hasten the removal of crunch from video game industry culture, but for now, it's clear from the report that devs want answers, and it remains to be seen if the ones they get - if they do get them - will be satisfactory.
Source: Bloomberg
