CD Projekt outlines future of The Witcher & Cyberpunk for the next decade

CD Projekt presented a very ambitious development plan Tuesday in a long-term strategic update. It included confirmation of six additional games, as well as the Witcher 2 game. Cyberpunk 2077Additionally, a third, completely unique series is currently being developed.

CD Projekt did not give a timeframe for this. However, from the information provided by the studio, it seems that the project can be placed in a release order. It also helps to clarify where their resources will come from.

In the near future, CD Projekt Red — the company’s main studio, comprising three development hubs in Poland — remains focused on finishing a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version of The Witcher 3Due in the coming year. Phantom LibertyExpansionCyberpunk 20772023 is the due date.

Following that game, three more are being developed for the Witcher Franchise. The other two games are still in pre-production. The first is “Sirius”, the codename for a single- and multiplayer game made by Boston studio The Molasses Flood, which CD Projekt acquired last year, and which made co-op survival game Drake Hollow. Also in pre-production is “Polaris”, the first game in the new Witcher saga, made by the core CD Projekt Red team. Next up is most likely “Canis Majoris”, a “full-fledged” Witcher game, but separate from the new saga and made by an external studio.

Beyond this trio, CD Projekt Red expects to follow “Polaris” with two sequels in the space of just six years. Meanwhile, “Orion,” the next game in the Cyberpunk universe, will be made by a new CD Projekt Red studio in Boston as well as CD Projekt Red Vancouver (formerly Digital Scapes, another recent acquisition). “Hadar”, the new IP, is the most distant prospect; CD Projekt Red is working on the setting but hasn’t begun any kind of actual game development.

Image: CD Projekt Red

There is at least a decade’s worth of new game releases here. It’s very rare for any publisher or developer to set out its plans so far in advance. It also represents a radical expansion for a company that, until this year, only worked on one major project at a time — and took its time about it, too. (The Witcher 3And Cyberpunk 2077They were each in production for between four and five years. CD Projekt now talks about managing multiple projects in the internal studios, as well as working together with an outside studio on a larger project than a mobile-game.

This is an aggressive strategy, which is why it is so surprising that the company is making this public is almost an unprecedented PR move. What’s going on here?

One reason CD Projekt’s motivation here is hard to parse is that there is There is so much!The company also announced its large production list and continued its messaging. Across a 15-minute strategy video, an investor call, a presentation document, And several further deep-dive videos (on marketing, culture, and technology), CD Projekt seemed anxious to talk about a range of topics, including: expanding into multiplayer gaming (while retaining a focus on single-player experiences); transitioning from its own technology to Epic’s Unreal Engine 5; expanding further into film, TV, and mobile gaming; promoting a healthy and sustainable working culture across its group of studios; improving both the quantity andIts product quality. It also announced that Marcin Iwinski, the joint CEO, will be returning to his non-executive role as chairman of its board.

The response left no doubt that investors and the company were shocked. Cyberpunk 2077PlayStation pulled its PlayStation 4 edition from sales in extreme circumstances after launching. Earlier this year, it was reported that CD Projekt’s stock price had slumped to a quarter of its value before the game’s release. The company has sold over 500,000 copies. Cyberpunk 2077 now hitting 20 million — helped along by the success of new Netflix anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners — CD Projekt is not struggling financially, but it will certainly be keen to rebuild confidence in its ability to make games, and to drive up that stock price.

All seem to be designed for post-production.Cyberpunk reassurance. But the extent of the announced plan goes so far beyond that — and so far beyond CD Projekt’s capacity to deliver thus far, according to its track record — that it seems the company has a loftier goal here than just reassuring everybody that its next games won’t be buggy messes.

The presentations seemed to be aimed at changing how CD Projekt sees itself as a company. Since The Witcher 3CD Projekt project has portrayed an image that is similar to Rockstar Games. A top-flight development team moving in a controlled manner from one mega-blockbuster after the other. The company’s new vision, which includes three properties and multiple projects at once, is very different.

The explosion of activity around The Witcher in particular suggests the way a publisher like Ubisoft seeks to exploit the likes of Assassin’s Creed with a continuous stream of new games (coincidentally, Ubisoft made its own raft of more or less nebulous Assassin’s Creed announcements recently). Blizzard may be closer to the mark: a hybrid of a publisher/studio and an organization with several internal teams that work on select properties.

These seem to be the images CD Projekt is trying to project. Now the question is, to whom it is projecting this image? Prospective employees could be a credible explanation. Many of the videos look like lengthy recruitment ads and there is plenty to do. CD Projekt could also be attempting to position itself as an attractive acquisition candidate, considering the steady stream of mergers across the industry.

It could even be the reverse. Given the company’s depressed share price, and remaining CEO Adam Kiciński’s past insistence that the company is not for sale — which he reinforced with talk of its complete independence in the strategy video — it seems most likely that CD Projekt is actually trying to bolster its value and rally its shareholders AgainstThe temptation to make quick money from a prospective buyer is strong. Keep your eyes on the company’s leaders and you will see a bright future of empire building.

It’s a compelling vision. CD Projekt needs to bring it about.