Many still seem upset about the disastrous launch.
Cyberpunk 2077 has been crowned with the Labor of Love award during Steam Awards, causing many players to review-bomb the title on Steam. A great number of players have started leaving negative reviews, claiming that the game does not deserve this accolade due to its troubled launch back in 2020.
Two years after its initial launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has become a massive success for its developer, driving the most successful third quarter of its history. It also bears the title of being one of the most controversial titles in the last 10 years of the gaming landscape. Even though the current state of CD Projekt Red’s action-adventure title seems better than ever with 20 million copies sold, it looks like some players still do not believe that Cyberpunk 2077 should have received the Labor of Love award. The award is given to games that have received significant post-launch support and updates, with the goal of recognizing the dedication and hard work of the developers.
Cyberpunk 2077 had been plagued by technical issues and bugs on both consoles and PC, causing frustration and disappointment among players when it made its debut more than two years ago. Many have reported crashes, frame rate drops, and other performance problems, leading to a significant number of negative reviews on Steam and the removal of the title from the PlayStation Store. While CD Projekt Red has released a series of updates bearing huge file sizes in the past, the general idea in the recent review-bombing states that the game “is where it should’ve been released at,” using the words of one commenter, and thus it does not deserve this award.
Among the nominees of this award are DOTA 2, Project Zomboid, No Man’s Sky, and Deep Rock Galactic. According to a great number of fans, other nominees deserved the award more, stating that Cyberpunk 2077 has only received essential updates in the past to offer a stable experience. That being said, there are also players like the Redditor BitingED who believe that CD Projekt’s once-troubled action adventure game deserves the award, saying that CDPR has kept at it, “rather than abandoning it in the grave.”
While CD Projekt Red has promised great things about the future of Cyberpunk 2077, the recent negative reception following the award serves as a reminder of the game’s state at launch. Currently, the Polish video game giant is working on Phantom Liberty, the upcoming DLC featuring Idris Elba, alongside multiple projects including The Witcher 4.
