Although CD Project Red had an incredibly rough experience developing Cyberpunk 2077, it now reveals that it is beginning work on its next Cyberpunk and The Witcher entries concurrently next year. To ensure the process runs smoothly, the studio will be expanding in size while making improvements to its game engine.
“We are planning to build cross-functional teams to work on both IPs,” CD Projekt Red CTO Pawel Zawodny revealed during a presentational video on YouTube. He later explained that the next Cyberpunk and Witcher projects will have a “cross-projects group of experts” to aid each team, with this massive operation said to be “starting in 2022.”
Of course, it is not entirely clear if both franchises will be earning true next-gen sequels. Zawodny did indicate the entire studio is reworking its focus to be completely on single-player RPGs. In doing so, CD Projekt Red is currently planning to revamp its internal game engine, REDengine, to improve NPC behavior and player movement — features that were widely criticized in Cyberpunk 2077.
Before CD Projekt Red begins work on these major triple-A games, the team will strive to have The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s next-gen update out by the second half of 2021. As for its latest title on the market, Cyberpunk 2077 is expected to have more quality-of-life updates on the way, with its next-gen upgrade also targeting a late 2021 release date.Â
