A tCD Projekt Red has big plans for both the Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher, letting other studios make Witcher games.
The developer and publisher revealed its plans through a new video, dubbed “Group Strategy Update: Long-term Product Outlook”. The video also revealed that, after the success of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunner series, CD Projekt Red will continue to explore film and TV.
So what does CD Projekt Red have in store for the The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077? As far as Cyberpunk 2077 goes, the sci-fi action RPG is getting a sequel, currently codenamed Orion. That’s all that the company has revealed, other than stating it will “..take the Cyberpunk franchise further and continue harnessing the potential of this dark future universe”.
As for fantasy series The Witcher, CD Projekt Red was a little more forthcoming on that subject. CDPR is working on a new Witcher trilogy, codenamed Polaris which they plan to deliver over the next six years. It’ll make use of Unreal Engine 5 and will likely feature multiplayer elements.
We’d love this trilogy to feature a new protagonist, though CD Projekt Red haven’t confirmed that. Don’t get us wrong, we love grizzled old Geralt, but we’re ready to either play as Ciri, or craft our own new Witcher from scratch. Why not give Biggivir of Chungus a chance at striking down fantasy beasts, eh?
On top of that, CD Projekt Red have two other non-trilogy Witcher games planned, codenamed Sirus and Canis Majoris. The Molasses Flood, which developed The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow and was purchased by CD Projekt Red in 2021, is working on Sirius. The game will offer “..multiplayer gameplay on top of a single-player experience including a campaign with quests and a story”.
Canis Majoris is also being developed by a non-core studio. However, CD Projekt Red hasn’t named the developer, or the nature of the project. What is apparent is that CDPR have big plans going forward. On top of that, there’s another project, dubbed Hadar, based on a new IP that. It’s not actively in development but it could become an active project further down the line.
As explained in the strategy video, the company plan to hire new staff to handle all these projects. Except.. we can’t help but feel a little cynical about CD Projekt Red’s plans. They seem very, very ambitious, particularly in light of Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled development. We tip our hat to Grapple Dog creator Joseph Gribbin, who quipped, “Love when big companies come up with super serious codenames like ‘Orion’ or ‘Midnight’ or ‘Dawn’. Makes it sound so serious when all you have is like 4 napkin drawings.”
We hope that CD Projekt Red’s plans are more than just scribbles. Certainly, we’re a little concerned about the new Witcher trilogy’s six year timeframe. The company’s employees reportedly endured months and months of crunch on Cyberpunk 2077, and we wouldn’t wish a repeat performance on anyone. Time will tell if CD Projekt Red’s can deliver on their bold new strategy, without endangering their employees’ health.
