CD Projekt to Pay $1.85 Million to Investors
Cyberpunk 2077 was considered to be unplayable when it first came out onto consoles. And it turns out, a group of investors thought the same thing. That was why they sued CD Projekt last year, in 2020, on the grounds of the game being “virtually unplayable“.
The studio has since settled with investors for 1.85 million, and have now issued a statement on the matter:
“In the framework of negotiations concerning a potential settlement agreement in a case pending before the US District Court for the Central District of California (hereinafter referred to as “the Court”), a proposal regarding key terms, which – if agreed upon – would provide the basis for a prospective written settlement agreement was officially formulated on 7 December 2021. According to these terms, members of the class (including the plaintiffs) would relinquish all claims against the Company and members of its Management Board. Furthermore, under the agreement, a settlement in the amount of 1 850 000 (one million eight hundred and fifty thousand) USD would be paid out to the class by the Company and its insurer – Colonnade Insurance S.A.
In relation to the above information, the Management Board of the Company wishes to inform that following the conclusion of negotiations on 15 December 2021 (of which the Company received notice on 16 December 2021) the sides signed a binding Settlement Term Sheet (hereinafter referred to as “the Term Sheet”) specifying key provisions of the settlement agreement. The Term Sheet stipulates that the settlement shall cover all parties to the case (including members of the class).”
CD Projekt Red goes on to explain their reasoning for the settlement:
“As expressly stated in the Term Sheet, execution of the Term Sheet does not imply admission of any responsibility on the part of the Company or any of the other defendants named in the case.
The Company wishes to announce that its decision to enter into this settlement agreement was motivated by (i) the duration and costs related to further legal proceedings in the U.S., which might arise irrespective of the Court’s findings; (ii) acceptance of the key provisions of the settlement agreement by the Company’s insurer; (iii) opinion expressed by the U.S. law firm representing the Company and the other defendants named in the case recommending acceptance of the agreement; (iv) the general practice in the U.S. of concluding such litigation by way of an out-of-court settlement.”
In short: a settlement was reached on December 16, 2021, mostly due to the fact that both sides did not want to pay continuing court costs, where CD Projekt Red will have to pay for having come out with Cyberpunk 2077 too soon. And the lesson we can take from this is: sometimes, it’s better to wait for a really good game.