From going to making niche, cult hit cRPGs, to one of the biggest and most acclaimed AAA titles in history, CD Projekt RED has had a hell of a ride- and it’s not stopping any time soon, because right now, all hands on deck are working on CyberPunk 2077. CD Projekt has previously said that CyberPunk will be its most ambitious outing till date- and speaking to Polish website Gazeta, CD Projekt RED co-founder Michał Kicińsk has stated yet again that CyberPunk could go on to become an even bigger success than The Witcher 3.
“I think that none of us expected such an unbelievable success of the game and CD Projekt itself. We’re talking about a game, that has pretty much won every single award and accolade that you can in this industry. If we’re to expect something more, it would be even better sales of the game. My brother Adam (CD Projekt’s CEO) spoke about it at one of the investors conferences. The Witcher 3 was of course a gigantic commercial success, but in terms of sales there’s still a lot of room for growth. CD Projekt’s ambition is to catch up with the largest developers in the world in that area.
And why will CyberPunk achieve greater success? Well, one reason could be its science fiction setting, inherently more appealing than a fantasy setting.
“The Witcher was a fantastic material for a game, but it also constraint us. For starters, we’re working with a story set in a fantasy world. Secondary, we’re promoting a brand, that was mainly known in Central-Eastern Europe, and not in the west. I’m confident, that Cyberpunk 2077 can be a much bigger commercial success than The Witcher 3. The futuristic world of the Cyberpunk is much closer to what we know from our daily lives. It’s also much more popular, massive as you can tell by its presence in the films, books, comics and games. You have to remember, that fantasy is a much more niche topic.
“I believe, that in case of Cyberpunk, CD Projekt can fight not only for prestigious awards and accolades, but also for a huge commercial success. It’s hard to achieve both of those in our industry, but it’s perfectly doable, as shown by Rockstar and, in the past, Blizzard.”
I wish CD Projekt RED all the luck in the world. With The Witcher 3, they have proven they are a talented bunch. Now let’s see if The Witcher 3 was just a flash in the pan.
