One of the most anticipated games of the year, "Cyberpunk 2077" was pulled from PlayStation Store on Friday by Sony.

The game developed by the Polish studio CD Projekt RED was however one of the most expensive in history.

For analyst Daniel Ahmad, the situation "could have been avoided" by postponing the release for a year. 

Victim of its bugs, Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most publicized video games of the year, was withdrawn on Friday by Sony from its online platform PlayStation Store worldwide in order to preserve the "satisfaction of his clients".

The game, produced by Polish studio CD Projekt RED and released on December 10, will be withdrawn from this official online store "until further notice," according to a statement from Sony's Video Games division.

"SIE (Sony Interactive Entertainment) strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, so we will start offering full refunds" to players, the group said.

A spokesperson for SIE Japan confirmed to AFP that the withdrawal from the game and the reimbursement of players would apply "worldwide".

In the wake of these announcements, Sony's earnings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange slowed, however, ending solidly in the green (+ 2.29% to 10,255 yen).

It had initially gained more than 5% at the start of trading, amid high investor expectations on sales of its new PlayStation 5 console for the holiday season.

A case of epilepsy

A dystopian video game that has been awaited for several years, Cyberpunk 2077 pushes the limits of what is technically possible today, according to specialized media.

He had been widely acclaimed upon his release.

However, it has been criticized for its technical malfunctions, in particular for its console versions, with some critics even going so far as to suggest that consumers postpone the purchase of the game for several months, while the fixes arrive.

The game's release had been delayed twice this year and the developers were forced to add warnings after a specialist journalist complained that she had experienced a bout of epilepsy due to the game. These delays, which the studio had justified by the difficulty of creating such a vast universe for different game supports which added to the complications to work during the pandemic, had aroused many criticisms.

CD Projekt RED issued an apology this week, promising to "fix the bugs" through fixes announced for January and February to "improve the gaming experience", while offering to reimburse players who don't want to wait.

In a note to investors released on Friday, the studio said it had discussed with Sony in advance of reimbursement for players who so desire.

One of the most expensive video games in history

According to estimates by the Polish bank BOS, the budget for Cyberpunk 2077, based on a role-playing game imagined by the American Mike Pondsmith, is estimated at 1.2 billion zlotys (270 million euros), which would make him one of the most expensive video games in history.

The studio has enlisted the services of one of the most highly rated actors, American Keanu Reeves, ("Matrix", "John Wick").

And its worldwide promotional campaign had been worthy of a Hollywood production.

Based in Warsaw, CD Projekt RED has made a name for itself for "The Witcher, Wild Hunt" released in 2015 and considered one of the best games of recent years.

"The Witcher" had considerably inflated the market value of CD Projekt RED, allowing it to compete with the French Ubisoft for the first place of European game developers.

The group's title, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, has however fallen sharply since early December against the backdrop of the technical setbacks encountered by its new creation.

"This situation could have been avoided"

"I don't think we've ever seen anything like it in the video game industry," Daniel Ahmad, analyst at Niko Partners, responded on Twitter, referring to Cyberpunk 2077's withdrawal from PlayStation Store.

"This situation could have been avoided" by postponing the release for another year.

"We see that the + crunch + (working day and night to finish a game, Editor's note) for months does not produce a good game. This not only affects the health of the developers, but also (the quality) of the game", a- he added.

CD Projekt Red had promised not to resort to this practice, which is common in the video game industry.

But media reports had reported that its employees were forced to work six days a week for long months to complete Cyberpunk 2077.