Following the success of the Phantom Liberty expansion, which sold 4.3 million copies in two months, the studio is ramping up work on the next installment in the Witcher series.
With nearly 400 developers working on the Polaris project, the studio is learning from past mistakes to ensure production runs more smoothly. CD Projekt Red has other projects in the works, including a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and a spin-off of The Witcher series being developed by The Molasses Flood team.
The changes follow layoffs in July 2023, when about 100 people lost their jobs in an attempt to make the studio more efficient. Speaking at GDC 2024, Michal Nowakowski explained that the studio has completely changed the approach to game development, focusing on sustainability, security and collaboration between teams.
Novakovsky emphasized that the key to preventing similar situations in the future is careful planning so that important projects do not overlap in time, and specialists do not interfere with each other by concentrating on several games at the same time. CD Projekt Red also focuses on transmedia projects such as comics, animation and film adaptation, which have become not just an additional activity, but an important part of the company’s strategy.
These changes to CD Projekt Red are a response to the problems the studio has faced in the past and a step towards ensuring that future releases are free from the problems that affected Cyberpunk 2077. With a new approach and plans for the future, the studio hopes to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
