Is It Time for a Crisis of Trust? Case of CD PROJEKT RED Game Development Studio and Their “Masterpiece” – Cyberpunk 2077 Premiere

Practice provides a lot of evidence that it is very hard to build brand image and customer loyalty, but it is very easy to ruin them. That is why the aim of the article is to revive the discussion within the above-mentioned issues. Considerations are carried out in relation to the computer games and electronic entertainment industry, where in recent times there have been a few very glaring cases showing a rather light-hearted attitude to the issue of taking care of the image and brand, and, consequently, customer loyalty. The empirical part of the article focuses on the case of the CD Projekt RED development studio and the events accompanying the Cyberpunk 2077 premiere – game which before its market launch was advertised to be “pearl”, “masterpiece”, “something wonderful”. The reality, however, brought a quick and brutal verification of the promises. On the day of its premiere, Cyberpunk turned out not only to be significantly constrained in relation to the advertised version, but also incomplete, badly optimized and poorly tested. As a result, the company found itself in a crisis situation not only in terms of the image, but also with significant financial implications. When analyzing the above situation in the article, answers to the following questions are sought:

1. Was it possible to prevent it and how?
2. What are its measurable effects and consequences?
3. What to do to prevent a similar situation in the future?
4. How to regain lost brand image and customer trust, if it is possible at all?