December 10th 2020 brought possibly one of the most surprising turn of events in gaming history. Not only did console versions of Cyberpunk 2077 offer almost unplayable sections, but PSN even made the bold move of completely removing the game! 
Hey, it offered the best armour at the time, so don’t judge me. Although I’d be quick to ask for a refund if my fashion designer came up with this look, the decision to ask for such with Cyberpunk 2077 is nowhere near as simple (and that’s a good thing!)
Now, we don’t need to go into detail about just what these issues were (that’s been covered enough over the past few weeks). Instead, we want to discuss and help answer the burning question – should you be among those requesting a refund for Cyberpunk 2077, or should you wait for patch updates?
Whenever launch bugs are a serious issue, answering such a question always comes down to the following:
1. The games developer
Cast your mind back to 2015 and more specifically, the release date of The Witcher 3. This amazing game that’s now regarded as one of the best open-world RPG’s of all-time, still had a fair few issues at launch. Due to the games sheer size, December 2014 saw over 5000 bugs still in the games gold build. The developers calculated that only 3000 could be fixed before the games original launch on February 2015. 
Cyberpunk 2077 has received 3 patch updates since consoles launch. The first was day one and the last was 24/12/20. This gif also shows the full 3D intercom – something I’ve wanted in sci-fi games for a long time!
The result was Witcher 3 being delayed for another 3 months, with the game being released on May 2015. However, many of these bugs still found their way to the launch build. Minor bugs saw your horse (Roach) get stuck in prone stances or within objects, as well as duplicate characters. Major bugs were cutscenes issues as well as game-breaking quest bugs and even hard crashes while playing Gwent.
Despite all those bugs on release, CDPR still managed to patch and fix all of those within the space of just a couple of months. 
The Arch motorbike is currently my preferred way to get around Night City. The level of detail while riding is amazing from the bikes electro dashboard, to the sleeves of whatever top/jacket V is currently wearing at the time
I’ve worked in the games industry and please let me add that testing a game of that size for bugs is one thing. Fixing them and testing a game fully again of that size (to make sure those recent fixes haven’t broken any other parts of the build) is another. This process usually has to be repeated again and again as new bugs are reported but the speed CDPR carried this out for Witcher 3, utterly amazed me. I simply hadn’t seen any other developer give such excellent post-release support…and you still have to take into consideration the games sheer size!
2. What platform are you playing the game on?
Although launch bugs have plagued all platforms, it’s mainly the base console (PS4 and Xbox One) versions that have caused such controversy. However, PS4 and Xbox One owners will also have something else to look forward to…a free upgrade to the PS5 and Series X version.
Okay, so I know what you’re thinking ‘yeah, but I want a clean game now!’ (‘Clean’ is a term used in the industry to describe a game pretty much free of bugs), but when you take into consideration the reputation CDPR have for fixing games post launch…and the fact that the full PS5/Series X release will probably cost £70…trust us, the base console price you paid will be an absolute bargain for what CDPR have planned for Cyberpunk 2077. 
Cyberpunk 2077 offers an array of weapons that can be upgraded and even enhanced with mod attachments. Even after just the first 3 updates, I’m really enjoying the game.
Should you keep Cyberpunk 2077 installed on your PC or console?
One thing I need to make clear – CD Projekt Red developers are not to blame for this. Yes, it’s true that CDPR are their own publisher (so would have more control over release dates than most) but it’s really down to upper management and the push from inpatient shareholders (and please don’t give me that rubbish that shareholders were scammed as these were the same investors that were gunning for CD Projekt Red after the December delay announcement – oh, and along with death threats from the gaming community; something even more shameful than the so called “football fan” that only travels abroad for a punch-up!).
The games industry is a tough one, with ridiculous working hours and punishing time away from family and friends (most of the people I knew never had a social life at all, because of it). CDPR’s developers have made a truly great game here and have already proved their post-release support is second to none.
Whether you plan on playing now (after the 3 main updates) or simply leaving it installed and waiting for more, you’ll still get to enjoy yet another ground-breaking RPG from CD Projekt Red.
Cyberpunk 2077 – Should you get a refund or wait for updates?
