A CD Projekt Red developer says that the studio's significant slate of upcoming projects are all "at different stages" as the company attempts to overturn its reputation for crunch.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, VP of PR and communication Michał Platkow-Gilewski said the studio's to-do list - which includes a new Witcher trilogy, a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, and a game in an original IP - isn't cause for concern. That's despite the controversy around Cyberpunk 2077, which launched in bad shape after reports of crunch at the studio.
"First of all, all these projects are at different stages, "says Platkow-Gilewski. "It's not that we are doing all that in the same moment at the same stage, because that would be a lot of work." The sheer scale of the upcoming CDPR games - five total games plus two spin-offs at other studios - would make working full-time on even half of that slate nearly impossible, and Platkow-Gilewski says that the current focus is on the longer-term.
- CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
- Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
"We are thinking about the strategy for years to come. We really care about our IPs, we want to develop them, we want to create games within them. But also, we want to make sure we are focused all the time. We have a lot of discussions, like 'what is most important right now? Where do we want to go? What do we want to achieve?'"
Platkow-Gilewski also says that the conversations around proper planning and avoiding overwork are "really healthy," noting that while it would be easy for CDPR to overdo it, "we are constantly checking and talking, and we think we know what to do."
First on the company's docket is Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. That's launching in September, and it sounds as though the company will then move on to The Witcher 4. That game isn't expected before 2025, but the two sequels billed as part of the new trilogy should follow in the six years after launch. The Cyberpunk sequel seems likely to launch somewhere in that window, but CDPR says it's unlikely to have entered pre-production by the end of this year. After that, there's Project Hadar, the original IP, to consider, but CDPR last said that it was in the "earliest stages" of ideation, and that no actual game development has begun yet.
That's a lot to take in, and CDPR is also "providing full creative supervision" on the Witcher 1 remake and keeping an eye on Witcher spin-off Project Sirius.
