CD Projekt RED co-CEO Michał Nowakowski believes that the Polish gaming giant hasn’t truly recovered from the atrocious launch of Cyberpunk 2077.
Released in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 launched in an atrocious state. While some claim that it wasn’t too bad, the game’s launch—even on PC—was a dismal affair, especially coming after the strong release of The Witcher 3. On Xbox One and PS4, it was even worse, with the game’s technical state forcing PlayStation to pull the game from their store.
Today, Cyberpunk 2077 is not only playable, but a fantastic first-person RPG. Despite some lingering issues, it’s one of the greatest games of the last generation. However, that required a massive period of patching that also resulted in the cancellation of additional DLCs.
Spekaing at DevGAMM Gdańsk, thanks GR, Nowakowski explained that the game’s redemption arc isn’t a “full redemption arc”. Yes, Cyberpunk 2077 eventually made good on its promises, but the game’s launch state has still not been forgotten, and some may never forgive the swindle.
“I’m not 100 per cent convinced we went through the full redemption arc,” Nowakowski said at the interview. “I’m convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that’s a fair thing.”
Nevertheless, the CEO hopes that they will regain their reputation with The Witcher 4 and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2. “I do hope we will be able to make it back—if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next,” he said.
Nowakowski also explained that those who stayed through the period of fixing Cyberpunk 2077 at CDPR are now amazing developers. “We were left with seasoned, battle-hardened veterans; leaders who were able to carry a different kind of challenge on their shoulders,” he said.
Now, CDPR is working on a lot of games, all in various stages of production. The Witcher 4 is deep in development with Cyberpunk 2 still staffing up with over 140 developers working on the RPG. Additionally, the studio is working on the multiplayer Witcher title Project Siirius and new IP Project Hadar.
Furthermore, The Witcher 3 is receiving a new DLC expansion in co-development with Fool’s Theory, the studio behind the upcoming remake of the first game. The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 are also planned.
“Our dream is to be making more games, although we never want to turn into the studio that’s going to be launching a big game every year,” Nowakowski said. “It may happen. But this is not the goal. We have a rough ten-year rolling plan, but the goal is not to flood the games market with CDPR games.”
The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past will release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles sometime in 2027.
