Blame for Cyberpunk 2077‘s woeful performance on last-gen consoles can unquestionably be placed on CD Projekt RED, but how did the developer manage to even get the RPG, which is filled with bugs, glitches and myriad other problems, past Microsoft and Sony’s supposedly stringent certification?
It’s only after each respective platform holder gives the go-ahead, after all, that any third-party software is even allowed to take up residence on Xbox and PlayStation, meaning both parties were almost certainly privy to the title’s borderline unplayable state prior to launch. While the studio earned itself a reputation for creating high quality games thanks to its acclaimed Witcher trilogy, it isn’t exempt, by any means, from that standard procedure, meaning the companies would have given Cyberpunk 2077 a thumbs up despite its obvious technical flaws.
As for how such an outcome was achieved, CD Projekt Red has now essentially admitted to misleading their partners in order to get coveted the green light. In answering one investor question in a recent conference call, management responded with:
“In terms of the certification process and the third parties – this is definitely on our side. I can only assume that they trusted that we’re going to fix things upon release, and that obviously did not come together exactly as we had planned.”
Cdpr admitted responsibility for basically lying to Xbox and PlayStation during the certification process today on a conference call. pic.twitter.com/l2ulhW75Ks
— Does it play? (@DoesItPlay1) December 15, 2020
While the lion’s share of the blame definitely lies with the developer, one can only wonder how strict the certification process truly is. Considering that the likes of Aliens: Colonial Marines and Life of Black Tiger – both fundamentally broken products – managed to pass with flying colors as well, there’s a case to be made that systems put in place to ensure a certain quality standard are due for a thorough review.
Whether that will ever happen is anyone’s guess, of course, and for now, all Cyberpunk 2077 fans can hope for is a series of promised patches meant to fix some of the title’s most egregious issues. Watch this space for further updates.