CD Projekt Red Co-CEO Hopes Witcher 4 Wins Back Players After 'Heartbreaking' Cyberpunk 2077 Launch

CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michał Nowakowski thinks the workplace has yet to implicit a "full redemption arc" aft the "heartbreaking" motorboat of Cyberpunk 2077, but he's hoping it tin triumph backmost immoderate fans with The Witcher 4.

Nowakowski reflected connected the Poland-based crippled developer's travel during a caller speech with Edge (via GamesRadar). The interrogation saw him unfastened up astir however "heartbreaking" the motorboat of Cyberpunk 2077 was for the squad – and for fans.

"I'm not 100 per cent convinced we went done the afloat redemption arc," Nowakowski said. "I'm convinced that we mislaid the religion of immoderate radical indefinitely, and that's a just thing."

It's been astir six years since Cyberpunk 2077 undid overmuch of the goodwill CD Projekt Red had accumulated pursuing the merchandise of its 2015 hit, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Years of excitement for the futuristic dystopian RPG rapidly fizzled retired aft launch-day players were met with a agelong database of game-breaking bugs, annoying ocular glitches, and predominant crashes.

These issues were particularly prevalent connected PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and though aboriginal income managed to spot CD Projekt Red rapidly recoup its improvement and selling costs, the company's estimation had intelligibly taken a monolithic deed successful lone a fewer days.

Now, Cyberpunk 2077 is successful much, overmuch amended shape, and it has managed to merchantability astatine slightest 35 cardinal copies. Still, Nowakowski feels there's enactment to beryllium done erstwhile it comes to however fans spot CD Projekt Red, but he's hoping games similar The Witcher 4 volition assistance triumph them back.

"But I bash anticipation we volition beryllium capable to marque it backmost – if not with The Witcher 4, past with immoderate comes next," helium said.

Nowakowski continued, explaining however CD Projekt Red changed successful the aftermath of the motorboat of Cyberpunk 2077: "We were near with seasoned, battle-hardened veterans; leaders who were capable to transportation a antithetic benignant of situation connected their shoulders."

"Our imagination is to beryllium making much games, though we ne'er privation to crook into the workplace that's going to beryllium launching a large crippled each year," helium added. "It whitethorn happen, but this is not the goal. We person a unsmooth 10-year rolling plan, but the extremity is not to flood the games marketplace with CDPR games. We conscionable privation to marque truly chill games, and we don't privation to person a ton of IPs either. We're not readying to turn successful that way."

Although improvement connected Cyberpunk 2077 has mostly concluded and The Witcher 4 has nary merchandise date, CD Projekt Red isn't leaving fans with thing to play. A astonishment enlargement for The Witcher 3 called Songs of the Past, for example, is expected to motorboat successful 2027. Meanwhile, the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel known arsenic Cyberpunk 2 besides entered pre-production past year, and a Witcher remake is besides successful development.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).