Update - December 16: CD Projekt Red issued an update on the Cyberpunk 2077 refund process for Cyberpunk 2077 through its automated helpdesk email this morning. The message is somewhat vague, but assures players that "we'll get back to you as soon as possible, no later than by the end of 2020, with information regarding next steps."
CD Projekt's update also touches on platform-specific refund processes, and in totally different ways. It encourages Xbox owners seeking a refund on a digital copy to go through the usual Microsoft Store refund steps. In contrast, CD Projekt advises PlayStation owners looking to refund their digital copy to "please wait for us to get back to you."
The wording regarding PlayStation copies of Cyberpunk 2077 suggests that, as early reports indicated, refunding the game on PS4 and PS5 may be more difficult than it will be on Xbox consoles. As previously reported, players have received mixed messages from PlayStation customer support representatives, with some refunds being denied on the grounds that Cyberpunk no longer falls under the "faulty" content exception for digital games now that CD Projekt Red has promised to patch the game substantially in January and February.
This comes on the heels of Michał Nowakowski, a publishing board member at CDPR, confirming that the studio doesn't have any sort of special refund arrangement with Microsoft or Sony. In the same call, Nowakowski affirmed that the cost of fixing the game is "irrelevant" compared to the importance of restoring the studio's reputation.
Original story - December 14:
Though CD Projekt Red has formally offered to help all users get a Cyberpunk 2077 refund, some PS4 and PS5 owners have been unable to refund the game due to PlayStation Store policy restrictions.
Several PlayStation players have shared screenshots of conversations with PlayStation Support, and there are two recurring themes among them. Some support representatives cite the PlayStation Store refund policy, which states that "if you have started to download or stream the purchased content you will not be eligible for a refund unless the content is faulty." With the developer of Cyberpunk 2077 coming out and acknowledging that the game runs poorly on last-gen consoles, you'd think it would fall under the faulty content exception, but some users have still been unable to push a refund through. It doesn't help that, at the time of writing, PlayStation's contact phone number is down.
In other support cases, representatives have pointed to the January and February performance patches that CD Projekt Red promised in its apology update. "Two large games patches will be released in January and February that should resolve many of the issues you are currently experiencing with the game," one representative told Twitter user ThatBoiKoda. They aren't the first or only one to receive this reply, as evidenced by the state of the Ask PlayStation Twitter account.
Some Xbox owners have also reported refund issues, but compared to PlayStation, we aren't seeing anywhere near the same volume of complaints. It's possible this is due to the Microsoft Store's slightly more lenient refund policy, which more clearly allows for "extenuating circumstances" such as the "time since date of purchase, time since release, and use of the product."
We've reached out to CD Projekt Red and PlayStation to confirm Cyberpunk 2077's refund eligibility and will update our coverage if we hear back.
Performance aside, Cyberpunk 2077 also has a serious bug problem, and one of them causes cops to appear out of thin air.
