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Polish Video Game Maker CD Projekt Focuses on Fixing Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt is focusing on improving Cyberpunk 2077 and restoring the trust of players and partners disappointed with its flagship game. (Reuters)
CD Projekt is focusing on improving Cyberpunk 2077 and restoring the trust of players and partners disappointed with its flagship game. (Reuters)
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Polish Video Game Maker CD Projekt Focuses on Fixing Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt is focusing on improving Cyberpunk 2077 and restoring the trust of players and partners disappointed with its flagship game. (Reuters)
CD Projekt is focusing on improving Cyberpunk 2077 and restoring the trust of players and partners disappointed with its flagship game. (Reuters)

Polish video game maker CD Projekt is focusing on improving Cyberpunk 2077 and restoring the trust of players and partners disappointed with its flagship game, Puls Biznesu daily reported the group’s CEO as saying.

Shares in the company, one of Polish biggest, slumped at the end of last year amid complaints of glitches in the role-play game featuring Hollywood star Keanu Reeves. CD Projekt is now valued at 29 billion zlotys ($7.78 billion) compared to around 40 billion zlotys before the game’s December debut.

Sony pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from its PlayStation Store after just a week. Since then, the firm has been working on improvements.

“The long-term goal for us is regaining the trust of players and our business partners,” Adam Kicinski told Puls Biznesu in an interview published on Monday, adding that the group was aiming for the game to be back in Sony’s store as soon as possible.

Kicinski also said that CD Projekt was sticking with plans to publish its strategy in the first quarter.

“We have been…discussing the direction for the coming years, taking into account the experience from the past weeks, he was quoted as saying.

Kicinski said CD Project would “actively defend” against any legal claims related to problems with the game and had appointed a law firm to represent the company. The company has said in statements that it is facing class action lawsuits in the United States.

Many of the issues with the game were reported on Sony’s older PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.

Commenting on the reasons for the shortcomings, Kicinski said that adapting Cyberpunk 2077 to the older-generation consoles was a bigger challenge than had been predicted.

“The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in most of the team working remotely, which did not make things easier either,” he said.

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Technology

KAUST Scientists Develop AI-Generated Data to Improve Environmental Disaster Tracking

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
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KAUST Scientists Develop AI-Generated Data to Improve Environmental Disaster Tracking

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) logo

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and SARsatX, a Saudi company specializing in Earth observation technologies, have developed computer-generated data to train deep learning models to predict oil spills.

According to KAUST, validating the use of synthetic data is crucial for monitoring environmental disasters, as early detection and rapid response can significantly reduce the risks of environmental damage.

Dean of the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division at KAUST Dr. Matthew McCabe noted that one of the biggest challenges in environmental applications of artificial intelligence is the shortage of high-quality training data.

He explained that this challenge can be addressed by using deep learning to generate synthetic data from a very small sample of real data and then training predictive AI models on it.

This approach can significantly enhance efforts to protect the marine environment by enabling faster and more reliable monitoring of oil spills while reducing the logistical and environmental challenges associated with data collection.

Technology

Uber, Lyft to Test Baidu Robotaxis in UK from Next Year 

A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)
A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)
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Uber, Lyft to Test Baidu Robotaxis in UK from Next Year 

A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)
A sign of Baidu is pictured at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China March 16, 2023. (Reuters)

Uber Technologies and Lyft are teaming up with Chinese tech giant Baidu to try out driverless taxis in the UK next year, marking a major step in the global race to commercialize robotaxis.

It highlights how ride-hailing platforms are accelerating autonomous rollout through partnerships, positioning London as an early proving ground for large-scale robotaxi services ‌in Europe.

Lyft, meanwhile, plans ‌to deploy Baidu's ‌autonomous ⁠vehicles in Germany ‌and the UK under its platform, pending regulatory approval. Both companies have abandoned in-house development of autonomous vehicles and now rely on alliances to accelerate adoption.

The partnerships underscore how global robotaxi rollouts are gaining momentum. ⁠Alphabet's Waymo said in October it would start ‌tests in London this ‍month, while Baidu ‍and WeRide have launched operations in the ‍Middle East and Switzerland.

Robotaxis promise safer, greener and more cost-efficient rides, but profitability remains uncertain. Public companies like Pony.ai and WeRide are still loss-making, and analysts warn the economics of expensive fleets could pressure margins ⁠for platforms such as Uber and Lyft.

Analysts have said hybrid networks, mixing robotaxis with human drivers, may be the most viable model to manage demand peaks and pricing.

Lyft completed its $200 million acquisition of European taxi app FreeNow from BMW and Mercedes-Benz in July, marking its first major expansion beyond North America and ‌giving the US ride-hailing firm access to nine countries across Europe.

Technology

Italy Fines Apple Nearly 100m Euros over App Privacy Feature

An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Italy Fines Apple Nearly 100m Euros over App Privacy Feature

An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Italy's competition authority said Monday it had fined US tech giant Apple 98 million euros ($115 million) for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market.

According to AFP, the AGCM said in a statement that Apple had violated privacy regulations for third-party developers in a market where it "holds a super-dominant position through its App Store".

The body said its investigation had established the "restrictive nature" of the "privacy rules imposed by Apple... on third-party developers of apps distributed through the App Store".

The rules of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) "are imposed unilaterally and harm the interests of Apple's commercial partners", according to the AGCM statement.

French antitrust authorities earlier this year handed Apple a 150-million euro fine over its app tracking privacy feature.

Authorities elsewhere in Europe have also opened similar probes over ATT, which Apple promotes as a privacy safeguard.

The feature, introduced by Apple in 2021, requires apps to obtain user consent through a pop-up window before tracking their activity across other apps and websites.

If they decline, the app loses access to information on that user which enables ad targeting.

Critics have accused Apple of using the system to promote its own advertising services while restricting competitors.