Cyberpunk 2077 sequel Project Orion recruits veteran devs from Control, Diablo, Mortal Kombat, and BioWare RPGs

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The Boston studio beefs up

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty V riding motorbike through night city
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk 2077's sequel has hired veterans from Diablo, Mortal Kombat, Control, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and more.

Earlier today, February 6, CD Projekt Red put out a press release revealing several new developers had been hired to work on Project Orion, the in-development Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. The newcomers are billed as "high-profile additions" to the development team, and they've certainly got the resume to back that up.

Dan Hernberg joins the sequel as executive producer, having previously worked on games like Apex Legends, New World, and Diablo 3 in a producer role. Ryan Barnard will join the new game as a design director, previously working as a gameplay director on the excellent Hitman games at IO Interactive. 

Alan Villani will work on Cyberpunk 2077's sequel as engineering director, having previously held the role of technology VP on several recent Mortal Kombat games. Excitingly, Anna Megill has joined CD Projekt Red's new development team, bringing over 20 years' experience in writing games like Dishonored, Control, and the new Fable 4 to bear.

Rounding out the new hires is writer Alexander Freed, who's previous worked alongside BioWare, EA DICE, Obsidian, and more over the course of 15 years. It's got to be said: the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel's writing department is incredibly intriguing with the additions of Megill and Freed.

In January, we heard that the Cyberpunk 2077 was still in the conceptual phase, meaning it hasn't yet moved out of pre-production and into full development. We do know that CD Projekt's core team in Boston is working on the new game, and one developer teased the new game by saying Cyberpunk 2077 was just a warm up.

Check out our new games 2024 guide for a look at all the titles we'll no doubt be playing we'll before the new game arrives. 

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Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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