CD Projekt Changes Developer Bonus Structure After Buggy Release
- Developers will get payouts, regardless of game’s reviews
- Cyberpunk 2077 was a hit, but critics found litany of glitches
Executives at Polish video game publisher CD Projekt SA took responsibility for the buggy release of the highly-anticipated title Cyberpunk 2077 this week, telling staff on Friday in an email obtained by Bloomberg that they will receive their full bonuses no matter how the game is reviewed. Previously, CD Projekt developers were told they would receive extra pay based on the game’s critical performance.
Cyberpunk 2077, which came out Thursday, is one of the year’s biggest games and a monumental release for the Polish publisher, which only makes new titles every few years. The sci-fi role-playing game sold more than 8 million copies in pre-orders before launch and has been acclaimed for its mechanics and story, but slammed for the number of glitches and bugs. As of Friday, Cyberpunk 2077 had a 90 out of 100 on the review aggregation website Metacritic -- a strong score that has nonetheless disappointed shareholders. If that score dips below 90, it may no longer meet the threshold that CD Projekt had originally set for bonus payouts.