When Cyberpunk 2077 launched in December 2020, it was supposed to be the crowning achievement of CD Projekt Red — the studio that had risen from scrappy Polish underdog to global prestige developer after The Witcher 3. Instead, it became one of the most infamous launches in modern gaming history.
Six years later, even after a miraculous turnaround and the critically acclaimed Phantom Liberty expansion, CD Projekt Red’s leadership admits the truth: the studio has not fully recovered.
In a recent interview with EDGE magazine, co‑CEO Michał Nowakowski reflected on the company’s “redemption arc,” acknowledging that a portion of the fanbase may never trust them again.
“I’m not 100 percent convinced we went through the full redemption arc… I’m convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely.”
It’s a rare moment of candor from a studio that has spent years rebuilding its reputation — and hundreds of millions of dollars — to transform Cyberpunk 2077 from a broken meme into a modern classic.
But to understand why the wound still lingers, you have to go back to the beginning.
And to the rumor that refuses to die.
The Dream That Collapsed: How Cyberpunk’s Launch Became a Cautionary Tale
By late 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 had been delayed three times, its marketing campaign had reached global saturation, and expectations were astronomical. CDPR promised a next‑generation RPG that would redefine open‑world design.
Instead, players on PS4 and Xbox One were greeted with:
- catastrophic framerate drops
- broken AI
- missing textures
- corrupted save files
- crashes every 20–30 minutes
- entire systems that simply didn’t work
Sony pulled the game from the PlayStation Store — an unprecedented move for a AAA release. Investors filed lawsuits. CDPR’s stock price collapsed.
The studio apologized publicly, issued refund programs, and began a multi‑year reconstruction effort that would eventually reshape the game into the polished experience it is today.
But behind the scenes, another story was brewing.
The QA Controversy: The Rumored Outsourced Testing Firm That “Misled” CDPR
In 2022, a major investigative report by Upper Echelon Gamers ignited a firestorm:
a contracted QA company — widely believed to be Quantic Lab — allegedly misrepresented the size and experience level of its testing team, leading to poor bug reporting and mismanaged priorities.
While Quantic Lab denied wrongdoing, the allegations included:
1. Inflated team size
The vendor allegedly told CDPR it had senior testers on the project, when in reality many were juniors with less than six months of experience.
2. Misleading bug quotas
Testers were reportedly pressured to submit a minimum number of bugs per day, incentivizing trivial or low‑priority reports instead of critical issues.
3. Flooding CDPR with noise
Developers were allegedly overwhelmed with minor cosmetic bug reports, burying the game‑breaking issues that players would later encounter.
4. Miscommunication about project health
CDPR leadership may have believed the game was in better shape than it truly was due to inaccurate QA reporting.
To be clear:
CD Projekt Red has never publicly blamed the vendor, and the vendor has denied the allegations.
But the rumor persists because it fits the broader narrative: Cyberpunk 2077 was a perfect storm of mismanagement, over‑ambition, and communication failures — both internal and external.
And even if the QA scandal wasn’t the root cause, it became part of the legend.
The Cost of Redemption: Hundreds of Millions and a Studio Transformed
CDPR spent years rebuilding Cyberpunk 2077:
- dozens of patches
- a complete police system overhaul
- redesigned perks and combat
- AI rewrites
- performance improvements
- the Edgerunners anime synergy
- the Phantom Liberty expansion
- the Ultimate Edition relaunch
The turnaround was so dramatic that many now consider Cyberpunk 2077 one of the most important redemption stories in gaming — a testament to what a studio can accomplish when it refuses to abandon a project.
But as Nowakowski admits, redemption is not the same as forgiveness.
The Lingering Shadow: Why CDPR Still Feels the Pain in 2026
Even with the game’s modern reputation, CDPR’s leadership knows the launch permanently altered how players view them.
1. Trust was broken
Some fans still believe CDPR intentionally misled them about the game’s state.
2. The Witcher 4 now carries extra pressure
Players fear a repeat scenario — a “once bitten, twice shy” effect.
3. The industry has changed
As Nowakowski notes, the market is more crowded than ever.
“There’s an unprecedented number of games being launched every year, and the fight for attention is tougher than it ever was.”
4. The studio’s identity shifted
CDPR is no longer the “consumer‑friendly” darling of the industry.
They are a major corporation with scars.
The Road Ahead: A Ten‑Year Plan and a Studio Reborn
CDPR’s future roadmap includes:
- The Witcher 4 (Project Polaris)
- A new Cyberpunk sequel (Project Orion)
- A new Witcher trilogy
- A new original IP (Project Hadar)
The studio has restructured its development pipelines, expanded globally, and adopted Unreal Engine 5 to avoid the technical pitfalls of its in‑house REDengine.
But the question remains:
Will players ever fully trust them again?
Nowakowski isn’t sure — and that honesty may be the most important step in the healing process.
Conclusion: Cyberpunk’s Legacy Is Both Triumph and Trauma
Cyberpunk 2077 is now a great game.
But its launch was a historic failure — one so severe that even six years later, CD Projekt Red still feels its weight.
The QA controversy, the lawsuits, the refunds, the broken promises — all of it forms a cautionary tale that will follow the studio into every future release.
Yet the redemption arc is real.
The game’s transformation is real.
And the passion of the developers who refused to let the project die is undeniable.
Whether CDPR ever fully escapes the shadow of 2020 is uncertain.
But one thing is clear:
Cyberpunk 2077 changed the studio forever — and changed the industry with it.
