Suffice it to say that I know somebody who knows some of the members of the board. They are nice guys, I'd say Marcin, one of the 2 co-CEO's, is one of the nicest, most down to earth gaming CEO's in the business. Mistakes were made by the them for sure, starting with going public and then with letting their original pro-consumer image slip in favor of keeping their investors happy. Make no mistake, the investors are the root cause of CD Projekt's issues, every mistake the board made was done in a vane attempt to satisfy investors who had ridiculously high expectations for Cyberpunk, they were doomed from the start. They announced the game too early to satisfy investors, decided to support current gen hardware in order to satisfy investors who would not have been ok with a next-gen only small install base release, even though they knew that PS4/XB1 already held back Witcher 3 and would cause even more issues on Cyberpunk. Crunch was done to satisfy investors who wanted the game out early and were tired of the delays, as well as to satisfy gamers who were hungry for the game after multiple delays and an announce that was way too early. Lots of mistakes were made, they dug their own grave. It's just about the biggest shame in the whole gaming industry at the moment, from the best studio (imo) to mid-tier at best. 

But I do believe that the board can turn the ship around if they examine their own mistakes, do some soul searching, and go back to their roots as the most consumer friendly game developer. The worst thing that could happen imo is if the investors wrest control of CD Projekt from the board, replacing the current game developers who are on the board with a bunch of number cruncher suits who care about maximum profit at minimum budget. Then we will basically have just another EA; mictrotransactions, you betcha; games as a service, you better believe it; physical goodies in the game case, those cut into profit margin too much, got to go; singleplayer RPG's, rest in peace.

The game might make a comeback. CDPR however... I doubt their image will ever recover after all of this.

So we saying Bethesda is next then ... good ! 

Honestly, I think they got it too easy with 76 still. 

I can easily see them do something similar with ESVI or Starfield.

Considering how many diehard fans CD Projekt has that are continuing to support them during this controversy, I doubt that. Their image still has alot going for them:

• One of the few developers/publishers that supports DRM free gaming, with their own Steam competitor GOG
• One of the few developers who still puts goodies into a standard edition game case (things like posters, guide books, and even their soundtracks, which most developers charge separately for)
• Strongly against singleplayer microtransactions and things like console exclusive DLC or preorder bonus DLC, instead releasing all of the smaller DLC's they design for their games for free
• Planning to release their upcoming Cyberpunk multiplayer game for free to everybody who buys Cyberpunk singleplayer, something most other publishers these days would charge separately for, considering Cyberpunk's multiplayer has multi-million seller capability and could make alot of money to keep the investors happy

Have they made mistakes? For damn sure. Will it take time for them to recover? You better believe it. Will they eventually fully recover? I think so, as long as the investors don't wrest control from the current board of directors which contains several actual game developers. If CD Projekt ends up getting ran by nothing but suits who care about maximizing profit at the cost of all else (current board made the mistake of trying to please money hungry investors), all of the things that make their image better than other developers/publishers will be gone, and they will just be another money hungry developer like Rockstar and money hungry publisher like EA and Activision. The current board needs to maintain control and do some soul searching and get back to their roots that made them the greatest developer and publisher on the planet, instead of trying to please investors who want nothing more than small budgets and microtransactions for huge profit margins, which would ruin CD Projekt in the eyes of gamers.

76 was the ruination of Bethesda's RPG branch for me. It wasn't until I found out that 76 was made by a smaller studio, that I held out hope for Starfield/ES6 being good. But IMO Bethesda RPGs have pretty much been stuck in a time warp since 2011. The bland formula of Skyrim/Fallout 4 isn't going to wow me anymore. Not with stuff like BotW, Horizon, and Spider-Man out there.

Interesting. I was sure you were all for Microtransactions in games. I don't think they belong in any $60 game, and frankly ruin the game beyond repair. Buying a game with MTX in it is like buying a car that has a faulty car alarm, non-functional windows, a horn that goes off on its own, no seatbelts, a backseat light that turns on randomly, and a trunk that can't be unlocked. Sure it's still a functional item, but all those little annoyances add up to the point where I just don't want to play the game.

But anyway, you're right that they do have a lot going for their public image. GoG has really improved in its selection over the last five years. They even have Horizon, which I'm tempted to double dip on. What they did to console users was just devious though. Withholding console performance, and only dishing out reviews to PC gamers, was just evil. I'm having a really good time with the game on my PC. My only consistent bug is not being able to pick up random loot every once in a while. But then again, I am running it on a pretty beastly rig.

That comparison is completely off. The games aren't automatically broken because they include MTX. Everything that is necessary is included which translates to a perfectly functional car. It's just that you can buy additional flashy stuff like steering wheel covers, carbon fiber hoods or tinted windows and in some rarer cases you can purchase high octance gas to get to your destination a little faster.

And no I have never paid for MTX in my life despite having played a few games that have them.

Last I checked costumes and flashy stuff came free in good games. Just like how working windows, and seatbelts come free in any car. It's only the MTX games where you have to pay for them. Also, high octane gas can be made a requirement if the car is rigged to only go 30 MPH without it. Games with MTX are slowed down all the time. They create a problem and then sell you the solution.

If the game makes a comeback, why wouldn’t CDPR? If Ubi or EA can release games that are broken at launch but still recover and still sell millions with their later games, why can’t CDPR? Hell, Bethesda turned Fallout 76 around. A game that launched in a worse state than Cyberpunk. When they announce Fallout 5 or the next TES mainline game, will anyone care about 76? 

At the same time, later this year CDPR can announce Witcher 4 or any other new project and it will get instant hype. Gamers don’t care about this stuff. It’s the internet making a fuss about it. Happens every year with CoD. Broken elements at launch, horrific install sizes, glitches, bad monetization elements, etc. If you read the internet you’d think CoD sells 43 copies a year.