The Cyberpunk 2077 debacle has, not for the first time, a yawning flaw in the PlayStation Store. We’ve talked about refunds before – funnily enough, when No Man’s Sky came under fire for failing to keep its promises – but another expected title falls short of expectations, and so here we are again.
Sony’s official policy is as follows: If you purchase a game from the PS Store and do not download it, you are eligible for a refund, provided you request a refund within 14 days. It’s an incredibly weak stance – especially when you consider that these days pre-orders are automatically downloaded anyway before they are released.
In comparison, Steam gives a refund for every purchase, as long as your playtime is no longer than two hours and you request your money back within 14 days. Google Stadia’s return policy is identical. Both are infinitely more reasonable than PlayStation’s policies, whereby even downloading the game – but never booting – can revoke your right to a refund.
Worse, the Japanese giant’s approach is everywhere. Over the weekend, there were numerous reports of disgruntled Cyberpunk 2077 owners receiving refunds; these days things seem to have gone the other way. It’s likely that customer service representatives have been told to stop refunding the title, but that’s a bad thing for everyone.
The whole situation is a mess: CD Projekt RED’s statement was purposely vague, but it certainly referred to the fact that refunds would be eligible through the PS Store. If so, why is Sony now denying them? Could it be that the Polish company, irresponsibly, published the comments without even contacting the platform holder and consulting the company about its position?
That seems unthinkable, but make no mistake, nobody looks good from this fiasco. Sony’s inconsistent approach to refunds is downright confusing; if some customers have already received refunds for Cyberpunk 2077 – as has been proven by multiple users on Reddit – why is it preventing others from returning the title? It has to be consistent here.
CD Projekt RED shouldn’t try to pass the dollar either. Today it apologized for not showing PS4 footage of the RPG prior to release; we were in constant communication with the company months ago and we only got a review code a few hours before launch. Obviously, that was a calculated decision, and management can’t give it away.
The only good thing that could potentially come out of this debacle is if it forces Sony to take a longer and closer look at its refund policy and make some meaningful decisions to move forward. The existing provisions seem stingy in an era when the PS5 digital edition exists, and there is clearly no consistency in how they implement them anyway.
Obviously, as consumers, we can all be a bit more proactive about how we spend our money, and perhaps this is yet another attack on the dreaded “pre-order culture” that we’ve all become guilty of too. But all of these companies – be it Sony, CD Projekt RED or some other party – want our hard-earned money, and it’s now up to them to regain our trust.
What do you think about Sony’s return policy for purchases from the PS Store at this time? What do you think would be a fairer approach? Have you tried and failed to get your money back for Cyberpunk 2077? Request a refund in the comments section below.