Press Play to Start: Cyberpunk 2077 shows the need to address the power of companies in esports

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote this column. We have a new president, countries around the world began vaccinations against coronavirus and a new semester of school started. If this column was about anything other than esports, I wouldn’t have a hard time deciding what to write about. 

Thankfully, one piece of media has dominated the discussion in the gaming sphere over the past few months. Of course, I am talking about Cyberpunk 2077. 

For those of you not familiar with what I am talking about, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game created by CD Projekt Red, a video game developing company. Inspired by a board game, the game promised a sci-fi open-world filled with realistic artificial intelligence, as well as extensive character customization seldom seen in any other role-playing games. They even had actor Keanu Reeves take part in the project. Naturally, all those things led to the game garnering insane levels of hype. 

It did not take a genius to guess that the game would never be able to live up to its reputation, especially after its various delays. But few thought it would be the disaster that it has become. 

Not only did the game not deliver on various promises, but it was also riddled with glitches and bugs, being declared almost unplayable on consoles after its launch. The issue was so prominent that Sony pulled the game from its digital store and offered refunds. Microsoft soon followed suit. 

In the months since Cyberpunk 2077 was released, gamers have gained more insight into what was going on behind the scenes as the game was being made. Mainly, a divide between the developers, lead executives and the marketing team as to how polished the game actually was. 

In other words, it is a classic cautionary tale against marketing and corporate expectations in video games.

And while Cyberpunk 2077 is far from being the first overhyped game in history, it is perhaps one of the first AAA titles that consistently accumulated hype throughout almost a decade. This means that an accomplished marketing team consistently lied to the public, forcing an entire studio to spend 10 years overworking and sacrificing their health at the risk of losing their jobs. 

But what does this have to do with esports?

Anyone familiar with the video game scene knows the importance of marketing for the survival of esports. Most of the time, players and organizations make a profit thanks to sponsorship and marketing deals, be they for individuals, entire teams or tournaments.  

However, the recent failure of Cyberpunk 2077 shows us how that business model might be unstable, leading to more harm than good. 

Let me explain. Unlike CD Projekt Red, esports athletes and organizations do not produce any new games. As such, they are not at the risk of having to do overtime to fill in the shoes set by the marketing team. However, they are at the hands of their sponsors and investors who, much like the marketing team behind Cyberpunk 2077, are often only looking at the numbers and a return on their investment. This means that human elements have the risk of being ignored in favor of profit. 

In a very simple example, the Vancouver Titans, a team focused on the game Overwatch, dropped its entire roster earlier this year due to coronavirus relocations. Instead of adapting the format to better fit the players’ needs, the companies retained their expectations, forcing teams to take drastic actions to protect their livelihoods. 

These decisions happen behind closed doors, and it takes a massive failure like Cyberpunk 2077 for them to be addressed. But it is not as if they don’t happen. And taking into account how the predominant business model in the industry quite literally gives the sponsors all the power in discussions, it would be foolish to think that it won’t continue. 

As such, the only possible way to avoid such manipulation is to change the business model, even if only partially. 

I don’t pretend to have all the answers. After all, I am not in the industry myself. Maybe some obstacles are only visible once you enter the professional world. But as of right now, it’s clear to me that teams must search for some autonomy from sponsors. And funny enough, I believe the answer is in how small tournaments and athletes make a profit: creating a connection with the community.

If small tournaments thrive by creating an environment where anyone can feel at ease, as I explored in one of my previous columns, who says that esports teams can’t do the same? They could, for example, hold their competitions where people of all skill levels could try for a small cash prize. To attract those of a higher skill level, the teams could host tournaments where the top five players would enter a training camp held by the team to help polish their abilities. 

As I said before, this is far from an exhaustive list of definite answers. But with the start of the new year, it is high time we in the gaming community reflect on our mistakes and work towards stopping similar things from happening again. The story of Cyberpunk 2077 may have been a great cautionary tale for the gaming sphere as a whole, but if we continue to encourage the same habits that led to this disaster, it will certainly not be the last. 

Guilherme Guerreiro is a sophomore writing about esports. His column, “Press Play to Start,” runs every other Wednesday.