Cyberpunk 2077 refunds are being rejected — what to do now

The launch of  Cyberpunk 2077 has been a bit of a mess, so much so that developer CD Projekt Red is now offering refunds for its flagship game. But it turns out getting a refund is not quite as easy as asking for it.

Players have uncovered a myriad of bugs, glitches and straight-up broken features in the days since launch. CDPR has promised fixes are on the way, but has said those who can’t wait should be able to claim their money back. But apparently nobody told Sony or Microsoft, since players' refund requests are getting rejected.

If you're one of them you need to email “helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com” before the end of December 21.

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CDPR has sparked a great deal of anger with the state of Cyberpunk 2077, and how badly the game currently runs on the original Xbox One and PS4 consoles. The developer didn't reveal any pre-release footage of the game running on last-gen systems before launch, but promised Cyberpunk 2077 ran "surprisingly well" on the old hardware.

This doesn't appear to be the case, and our very own Henry T. Casey has encountered numerous bugs when running Cyberpunk 2077 on his Xbox One X. 

CDPR has since apologised for this the state of Cyberpunk 2077 on last-gen consoles, and has promised players will be entitled to a refund if they ask for one. But there's a catch. 

Sony and Microsoft reportedly reject Cyberpunk 2077 refunds

Getting a refund isn't quite as simple as CD Projekt Red telling you it's ok, because the developer doesn't actually sell the console versions of the game. While physical copies can be taken back to the store, refunds on digital copies have to come from the owner of the store you made the purchase from. 

In the case of consoles that's Sony and Microsoft, and players are finding they're not being quite so generous as CDPR when it comes to returning money to disgruntled players.

The experience on both Twitter and Reddit seems to be that Sony support has been refusing to grant refunds on games that have been downloaded and played – per PlayStation Store policy – despite there being exceptions for "faulty" content, which would presumably apply in this case. Evidentially trying to explain this situation hasn't helped, and in at least one instance Sony has told users to wait for updates.

CDPR has promised two big patches will be coming to Cyberpunk 2077 in January and February, both of which “should fix” the issues last-gen gamers are struggling with. While CDPR has outright said that it won’t make the game look like it’s running on a next-gen machine, we hope it makes the games actually playable.

Sony's policy seems to be affecting most people who ask, even Kotaku's Ari Notis. They had their refund request rejected and were disconnected from the chat before being able to ask about whether Cyberpunk 2077 fell into the "faulty" category.

Fortunately Xbox customers are having more luck, and while plenty of people are being rejected there are some refunds being given.

Cyberpunk refund please help from r/xbox

How to claim your Cyberpunk 2077 refund on PS4 and Xbox One

Unfortunately CDPR can't just give everyone their money back, so if you want to return your digital copy of Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 or Xbox One you'll have to get in touch with Sony or Microsoft.

Microsoft is nice and easy, since you can request a refund from the Xbox support page. Once you sign in you'll see a list of games you purchased recently, letting you request a refund on the relevant game with the click of a button.

If the game isn't appearing on that list, but you have an order number handy, you can do the process manually by filling in the refund request form. If you get rejected there's not much recourse available, since Microsoft's "Contact Us" page won't let you speak to a human being regarding refunds.

Sony is a little bit more difficult, especially since it has done the annoying thing of making you go through a chatbot before you can talk to a human being. The chatbot will walk you through the process and eventually you'll be given the option to talk to a human. Just make sure to avoid saying "yes" when it asks whether the game has been downloaded, because answering honestly will shut the entire conversation down.

You'll then be added to a queue of people, and while you may be there a while you'll eventually get connected to a human being. It's up to you to make your case, and hope Sony is willing to give you your money back.

If you come across any major issues, CDPR said you can email “helpmerefund@cdprojektred.com” for help before the end of December 21.

How to get a Cyberpunk 2077 refund on PC

CDPR's refund announcement only applied to Xbox One and PS4 consoles, but if you're a PC gamer struggling with the game's problems then you'll need to contact the store you purchased it from.

Anyone who purchased from GOG will presumably have the best chance of a refund, since its owned by CD Projekt Red. Likewise the refund policy is that you need to contact customer support within 30 days of purchase -- even if the game has been downloaded and played.

Steam and the Epic Games Store are different, since their refund policies both say you will only get a refund if you request one within 14 days and haven't played more than two hours. 

Steam refunds can be requested from the purchase history page on the Steam Support site, just pick the relevant game and click "I would like a refund". Epic refund requests can be made by clicking "Contact Us" on the store's help page. 

Just be aware that both stores are known to be very strict about refunds, and since CDPR hasn't said anything about refunds on PC they have zero obligation to give it to you.

Don't buy Cyberpunk 2077 if you haven't already.

CDPR has asked that people give it a chance to fix the plethora of Cyberpunk 2077 bugs, and if you haven't picked up a copy yet don't bother. You should wait for the bugs to be ironed out, and whether that happens by February, or takes longer, there's absolutely no point purchasing a game that was released in the same state as this.

While the game seems to run ok on PS5 and Xbox Series X, we'd still recommend waiting. A next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 is coming sometime in 2021, and you're going to have an overall better experience if you wait for the version that's been fully-optimized for your hardware.