Whereas Cyberpunk 2077 was subject to an incredibly siloed development, Cyberpunk 2 is being made in a much more collaborative state at CD Projekt Red’s new Boston-based studio. While the sequel will likely maintain the first-person cinematic focus of its predecessor, game director Gabe Amatangelo explains that the game keep evolving and changing.
As part of the game’s more collaborative development, which the team started with the creation of Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion, Cyberpunk 2 is no longer a few higher-up developer’s vision. Instead, everyone is working together, throwing in ideas, and testing experimental new features.
“I had the idea of Cyberpunk 2 in the beginning, but it evolves as I involve more people. And it evolves as I empower the team and individuals within them to contribute. It becomes something else, right?” Amatangelo explained in a new blog post.
While the original, still-mysterious, idea for the sequel started off as Amatangelo’s idea, new developers are adding, expanding, and evolving it way past its conception. “It becomes this thing that I’ve shepherded, but it’s ultimately a reflection of the team’s hearts and souls,” the game director added.
The game director explained that the more collaborative development of the sequel means allowing developers to feel comfortable when they get it right or when an idea doesn’t fit. “I had a lot of people saying, ‘Oh, cyberpunk means this.’ ‘Cyberpunk means that,’” he said. “And I said, ‘Yes! You’re all right and you’re all wrong!’ Punk means different things to different people, but the core is the ability to pose questions — to ask why.”
As the team continues to grow and new voices get thrown into the mix, Cyberpunk 2 continues to expand and change in new ways, becoming a representation of the entire team’s thoughts, feelings, and ideals. “There is a shared responsibility and shared ownership over what we’re making,” he said. “And we all get along; there’s a real camaraderie.”
It’s still unknown what the actual scope of Cyberpunk 2 is, although the game will seemingly allow players to go out of Night City to explore a messed up city based on Chicago. We also know that the game will be built on Unreal Engine 5 instead of the original game’s RED Engine, as CDPR wanted to move away from maintaining its own tools.
With The Witcher 4 likely planned to release in either 2027 or 2028, Cyberpunk 2 is likely not scheduled to launch until 2030, or even later. It’s going to be a long wait, similarly to the first game, but it will hopefully be another fantastic RPG, albeit hopefully less troubled on launch this time.
