The long road ahead
CD Projekt published a series of informational slides on Twitter today, alongside a YouTube video, outlining its future plans for the company and its brands, including The Witcher and Cyberpunk.
At the outset, CD Projekt says it plans to expand its online presence and build out both The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises through “core gaming extensions” (like mobile) and partnerships, including TV series and merchandise. The publisher also says it plans to move into parallel AAA game development starting in 2022. The company has also invested in Digital Scrapes, a Vancouver-based studio that will bolster its other studios.
— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) March 30, 2021
“We are planning to build cross-functional teams to work on both IPs,” said Pawl Zawodny, Head of Production and CTO at CD Projekt, in one slide. “These teams will blend disciplines and expertise, so we have closer communication and skill sharing going on from the beginning. Cross-functional teams allow different aspects of development to run in tandem without complication.”
As for 2021, CD Projekt is planning on patches, updates, and free DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, alongside the forthcoming next-gen update. On The Witcher side, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will receive a next-gen update, Gwent will continue to receive development, and there’s also The Witcher: Monster Slayer in the pipeline.
CD Projekt also seems to be responding to some of the critcisms surrounding the development and launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Reports of crunch circled around Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch, as did grievances over the state of the game at launch.
In the video update, CD Projekt highlighted further support for employees, including mental health. “We want to continuously improve the working environment for every team member,” said CD Projekt boss Adam KiciÅ„ski. “We want a sharper focus on how we work together to make great games.”
Executive Michal Nowakowski also said that the company has learned from its marketing and PR campaigns for Cyberpunk 2077. “Going forward, our campaigns will be much shorter,” said Nowakowski. “We will wait until much closer to a game’s launch before we start showing things like trailers, demos, or going in-depth about mechanics, etc.”
Whether all of this can right the ship after the still-lingering backlash over Cyberpunk 2077, it certainly looks like CD Projekt is forging ahead either way. Hopefully a pause and reassessment can curtail some of the reported issues at the company.
