In its published resolution, the company said that this decision was made in order to fully unify CD Projekt Red as a single entity, especially since both the parent company and the development studio share core business activities – development and publishing of video games and the management of IP.

“In the opinion of the Management Board, the new company name will ensure full brand consistency and facilitate the identification of the Company with its products on the global market,” explains the resolution.

As far as rebrandings go, CD Projekt’s decision to be known as CD Projekt Red is quite understandable, since for most people, they’re essentially the same company, known for their large-scale open-world RPGs. As for fans that might be worried about whether this affects the development of upcoming titles like The Witcher 4 or the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, there is little to worry about, since this was purely a change in branding and the company has announced no changes to its development pipelines, at least for now.

Earlier this month, co-CEO Michał Nowakowski had spoken about the studio’s slower approach to game development, since the previous console generation saw only the release of The Witcher 3 and a poorly-received port of Cyberpunk 2077. While he said that CD Projekt wants to make more games, “we never want to turn into the studio that’s going to be launching a big game every year.”

“It may happen, but this is not the goal,” he continued. “We have a rough ten-year rolling plan, but the goal is not to flood the games market with CDPR games. We just want to make really cool games, and we don’t want to have a ton of IPs either. We’re not planning to grow in that way.”

Looking to the company’s future and its past, Nowakowski also acknowledged the technical issues that plagued Cyberpunk 2077 when it originally launched back in 2020. Despite the more positive opinions on the title in recent times, especially since the release of its Phantom Liberty expansion, he said that the studio hasn’t quite redeemed itself just yet.

“I’m not 100 percent convinced we went through the full redemption arc,” he acknowledged. “I’m convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that’s a fair thing.” He went on to say that he hopes that the company “will be able to make it back – if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next.”

As for The Witcher 4, the title is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S and doesn’t yet have a release date. Nowakowski had previously mentioned that CD Projekt is planning a trilogy of The Witcher games within a six-year period and that any expansions to The Witcher 4 “would be difficult”.

“I was in a conversation with a person who started a studio and was telling me: ‘I’m running a primarily AI-based studio. I can have 40 prototypes within a week, two weeks from now I can have five games that I chose are going to be the best, and three weeks from now, I’m actually launching a game.’” Nowakowski went on to note that he still had doubts about whether this concept would even work out.

“Maybe that’s going to be successful, but I have some doubts whether this is really the path to follow.”

Nowakowski had last spoken about the use of generative AI in game development during an earnings report from back in December 2025. At the time, he said that the studio had no plans to hire more ‘classic’ IT people to integrate generative AI tools in its development pipelines.

“We are not really hiring ‘classic’ IT – but I understand this is supposed to be about gaming industry talent – the availability of talent has perhaps increased a bit over the past three years, but I’m not sure I’d actually ascribe it to AI, to be perfectly honest – some studios have been going through turmoil; there were some project closures and so on, which led to many redundancies in the gaming industry; we’ve all seen that – it’s been very dramatic in many cases – but – literally kill me here, but I don’t recall a single time when it would be attributable directly to AI,” he explained.

He then went on to note that the studio was using AI tools in “productivity areas”, and while he didn’t explain what it meant, he noted that these tools aren’t capable of handling the creative aspects of game development.

“At least I don’t know about that. And as for reducing headcount thanks to AI – I don’t imagine that. Our usage of AI is mainly in the productivity areas, and that’s where we see the largest benefits of that. The benefits are real, they’re meaningful, but it’s not a situation – and I’m unaware of such a situation – where AI could ‘sit down and make games,’ he said. “That’s our take. It doesn’t mean it’s not gonna be useful, but it’s not gonna be making The Witcher 5, or 6, or anything like that.”

There have been quite a few recent conversations about the use of generative AI. Palworld developer Pocketpair’s head of communications and publishing, John Buckley, said that the company doesn’t plan on using these tools because “gamers don’t want it.” On the other hand, Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that generative AI was used in the earlier processes of the development of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.

It’s considered one of the best role-playing games out there today, especially after Phantom Liberty. However, despite changing how it develops titles (including properly documenting everything), steps to eliminate crunch, and more, CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski believes its redemption arc hasn’t been completed.

“I’m not 100 percent convinced we went through the full redemption arc,” he told the Knowledge newsletter (via GamesRadar). “I’m convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that’s a fair thing.”

Of course, the company isn’t simply taking it lying down. Nowakowski hopes that “we will be able to make it back – if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next.” Which would potentially be Cyberpunk 2, if not The Witcher Remake from Fool’s Theory.

Regardless, it’s a long journey, especially since CD Projekt isn’t keen on releasing a swath of titles. In the same interview, Nowakowski said that he’s not keen on a big game every year, and the team isn’t planning to grow by having several new IPs. Instead, the plan is to make “really cool games” – with the odd expansion such as, say, Songs of the Past for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

As for The Witcher 4, it doesn’t have a release date, but chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz said that it wouldn’t launch before 2027 at the earliest.

And while progress may seem somewhat slow – remember that Cyberpunk 2 entered pre-production in May 2025 – CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski wouldn’t have it any other way. Speaking to the Knowledge newsletter (via GamesRadar), he said, “Our dream is to be making more games, although we never want to turn into the studio that’s going to be launching a big game every year.

“It may happen, but this is not the goal. We have a rough ten-year rolling plan, but the goal is not to flood the games market with CDPR games. We just want to make really cool games, and we don’t want to have a ton of IPs either. We’re not planning to grow in that way.”

Which isn’t to say that CD Projekt isn’t leveraging existing IPs in other ways. The Witcher 1 is getting a remake courtesy of Fool’s Theory (which is also working on Songs of the Past). Then there’s Project Sirius, a multiplayer experience set in the same universe, though its premise and overall gameplay remain to be revealed.

One new IP, Project Hadar, is also in the works and promises an “emotional, open-world experience”, according to a recent job listing. Of course, the lack of release dates, especially for The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2, is still in line with Nowakowski’s stance. And considering how much long-term revenue the company’s biggest hits have provided, it wouldn’t be surprising that CD Projekt is focusing on quality above all.

During an earnings call, one investor actually asked when the company would start marketing, and whether it would be a “longer” campaign or a possible shadow drop. Co-CEO Michał Nowakowski responded, “I’d like to say everything is a possibility. But having said that, our experience and our preference, given the types of games we make, is for longer-term marketing campaigns; we think they tend to work a little bit better than, say, a live drop at some conference or event. So I’d point in that direction.”

Long story short, if The Witcher 3’s new DLC ends up real, don’t expect it to drop out of nowhere suddenly. Then again, whether it will be announced several weeks or months out from launch remains unknown.

Either way, Chief Financial Officer Piotr Nielubowicz reiterated that the company needs to earn 527 million zloty or roughly $143 million to meet its net profit goal. “As always, I’d like to emphasize we still see it as a very ambitious goal. We continue to believe that with strong back catalogue sales performance this year and the new content we’re planning to release, we have a fair chance of reaching it.”

With Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still racking in the sales (to say nothing of Phantom Liberty, which crossed 10 million sales in May 2025), this new project would certainly put the developer over the top. The question is: When can we expect an announcement?

An analyst told Strefa Inwestorów that they expect it to launch in Q3 2026, taking into account that Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected in November. They felt that September was the “best window,” especially since it would be a nice “back to school” period. Noble Securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski believed it could launch in May, retailing for $30, but if an announcement were to happen, it must be in April.

Of course, as we continue to debate when it could launch, CD Projekt RED is hard at work on The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2, for which it’s scaled up both teams. Project Hadar, a brand new IP, is also making progress with the developer prototyping “specific elements.”

Having entered full production in late 2024, it’s interesting to see The Witcher 4’s development team continuing to grow. By comparison, the team working on Project Orion aka Cyberpunk 2 has added approximately 14 developers over the past several months. It’s worth remembering, however, that CDPR previously outlined plans to more than double the size of the Boston, Warsaw, and Vancouver teams.

The plan is for Cyberpunk 2 to have more than 450 developers by 2027. As The Witcher 4’s development is showcasing, however, that could mean full production begins either later this year or early next year (it entered pre-production in May 2025). The development team will then continue scaling throughout until it hits the intended target, and nothing says it can’t increase even further.

The Witcher 4 doesn’t have a launch date or platforms, outside of PC, obviously. Noble Securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski believes it could arrive in late 2027 with the rumored Witcher 3 DLC – now believed to be coming in September – serving to bridge the story.

According to the analyst, this puts the release window for the rumored DLC at Q3, before November. They also noted that September likely works as “the best window” for this DLC, since it tends to be a “nice ‘back to school’ period.”

“I didn’t include DLC for The Witcher 3 in the model, but like everyone else, I assume that CD Projekt will try to release the DLC before the new GTA release date to avoid this difficult period for other titles,” said the analyst (via machine translation). “So definitely before November, probably around Q3. I think September is the best window. In the summer, gamers are on vacation, and September seems like a nice ‘back to school’ period. However, things could change. They might come up with the idea to release it in two or three months.”

“We can toss around potential dates, but the company likely takes into account many factors that influence the release window. They’ll probably also have to ensure that the quality from Fool’s Theory is fully satisfactory, so I prefer to assume it will be a bit later.”

Reports of this potential DLC first started coming up back in December, coming in courtesy of Noble Securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski. The DLC is expected to bridge the gap in the story between the events of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the upcoming The Witcher 4. According to Chrzanowski, the DLC will be priced at $30, and will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It was also believed to originally be slated for release to coincide with 11th anniversary celebrations for the release of The Witcher 3.

If this DLC comes out, it will be the third major one to come to The Witcher 3, after Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. The two previous DLCs already wrapped up much of protagonist Geralt’s narrative arc. The new DLC will likely help in explaining why Ciri is taking over as the protagonist in The Witcher 4. It is also rumoured to be in development at Fool’s Theory.

Earlier this month, notable leaker NateTheHate said in a report that this DLC actually exists. While not too many details were revealed, the leaker noted that what they indicate is that the story will largely revolve around Geralt.

While CD Projekt RED is yet to make any official announcement for the DLC, the studio is confirmed to be hard at work on a number of projects, including The Witcher 4 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077.

Chrzanowski has noted that the actual development price is likely closer to PLN 1.4 billion (roughly $388 million). He also expects CD Projekt to spend a similar amount on its marketing, which will likely bring up its overall expenses to the $800 million mark. He has also offered predictions about the development budget of other CD Projekt titles, such as the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel Project Orion.

He has predicted that Orion‘s development will cost around PLN 1.5 billion (roughly $416 million), with a chunk associated with the rumoured multiplayer game modes. Along with this, the launch window for Orion has also been reportedly pushed back to Q4 2030.

Chrzanowski had previously reaffirmed that the DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is “100 percent” happening. He cites the company’s incentive program being short PLN 700 million (roughly $194 million), which may be met if new paid content for one of CD Projekt’s games is released.

As for the rumours about new The Witcher 3 DLC, Chrzanowski predicts that it will be released in May, and will sell 11 million copies over the next year. He has also predicted a development budget of PLN 52 million (roughly $14.5 million) for this DLC.

While CD Projekt RED is yet to make any DLC announcements, reports have indicated that it will take players to Zerrikania, east of Nilfgaard. Along with this, IGN Poland has also claimed to have known about the DLC for “a very long time”. It is worth noting that these details about the DLC are from early in its development, and that they may have been changed since then. Kovir is noted as another possible location for its story.

Development of The Witcher 4 has been going quietly at CD Projekt RED, with no new details having been revealed in quite some time. Back in December, however, CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski had spoken about the company’s hiring policies, and whether it has been changed because of the rise of generative AI in the IT industry.

“We are not really hiring ‘classic’ IT – but I understand this is supposed to be about gaming industry talent – the availability of talent has perhaps increased a bit over the past three years, but I’m not sure I’d actually ascribe it to AI, to be perfectly honest – some studios have been going through turmoil; there were some project closures and so on, which led to many redundancies in the gaming industry; we’ve all seen that – it’s been very dramatic in many cases – but – literally kill me here, but I don’t recall a single time when it would be attributable directly to AI,” he explained.

He also noted that the company isn’t looking to reduce its headcount due to generative AI anytime soon. Rather, the company’s use of AI largely revolves around “productivity areas”, and he isn’t convinced that the technology can “sit down and make games”.

“That’s our take. It doesn’t mean it’s not gonna be useful, but it’s not gonna be making The Witcher 5, or 6, or anything like that,” he said.

In a post on his Patreon, Ross wrote about CD Projekt following the actions taken by Take-Two Interactive—referring to the parent company of Rockstar Games having issued a DMCA takedown request to remove mods for Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, as well as for Hangar 13’s Mafia: Definitive Edition back in 2022.

“Now that the dust has settled, I’m even more sorry to announce that we are leaving behind an adventure that so many of you deeply loved and enjoyed. CD PROJEKT S.A. decided that they would follow in Take-Two Interactive Software’s steps and issued a DMCA notice against me for the removal of the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod,” wrote Ross.

He also addressed the fact that the only way CD Projekt would have allowed work on the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod to continue would be if Ross were to stop locking access to it behind a Patreon subscription. Declining to do the work for free, Ross decided to take the mod down instead.

“At least they were a little more open about it, and I could get a reply both from their legal department and from the VP of business development. But in the end it amounted to the same iron-clad corpo logic: every little action that a company takes is in the name of money, but everything that modders do must be absolutely for free,” he said.

CD Projekt’s VP of business development Jan Rosner took to social media to offer further clarification, noting that the mod’s existence went against the company’s guidelines about mods being available for free. “This directly violates our Fan Content Guidelines: we never allow monetization of our IP without our direct permission and/or an agreement in place,” he wrote. “We were in touch with Luke last week and informed him that he needs to make it free for everyone (with optional donations) or remove it.”

Further in his post, Ross also confirmed that his next project will revolve around bringing VR support to Larian Studios’ award-winning RPG Baldur’s Gate 3. He wrapped up his post by releasing an early version of the mod without putting it through testing.

“Despite everything, I really want to end this on a positive note, so I’ll jump the gun and just release today the new conversion I have been working on, without going through the ordinary testing cycle. Maybe it will be a little rough around the edges, but we’ll take care of that, as we always do,” he wrote.

The takedown of the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod comes just days after Meta announced the closure of a number of game development studios under its VR-specific Reality Labs division.

Among the studios affected by these closures are Armature Studios, Twisted Pixel, and Sanzaru Games. Batman: Arkham Shadow developer Camouflaj has also been affected. However, it hasn’t been closed down. Rather, it was hit by lay-offs, and its few remaining employees are now working on projects that better align with Meta’s current business plans.

It’s been five years since launch. Looking back, what stands out to you most about Cyberpunk 2077’s release, both the highs and the things you wish you’d handled differently?

What stands out most for me is the contrast. On one hand, the ambition, the world, the characters: the things players immediately connected with emotionally. On the other, the reality of how we launched, and not fully delivering on our vision. That being said, I’m so proud of how the team responded afterward; it took some real grit and resilience. The story of Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t just about the launch, it’s also about everything that came after.

"The story of Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t just about the launch, it’s also about everything that came after."

Compared to the launch version, the game has changed dramatically. When you look at the journey from 1.0 to where it is today, what were the biggest lessons CDPR took away, creatively, technically, and organizationally?

Creatively, we learned the importance of focus and discipline. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 works best when its systems, narrative, and themes all reinforce each other, rather than competing for attention, or even openly working against each other. One thing we built on as much as we could, but we could have been smarter about implementing when designing the game, is elements of ludonarrative dissonance. V is dying, vomiting blood, and coughing, but role-playing game progression makes them more powerful with every finished quest. We used this to strengthen the narrative and feeling of loss, as every step V takes brings the inevitability of terminal illness closer, no matter how powerful you feel. We used that tension as well as we could, but could have focused on it earlier.

Technically, we learned how critical a strong, scalable foundation is. Many of the improvements players see today were only possible because we reworked core systems instead of layering fixes on top — sometimes ripping the guts out and redoing it is the only way. Ambition needs to go hand in hand with technical possibilities, and limitations need to be respected and used as a stimulus to make smarter design decisions.

Organizationally, the biggest lesson was alignment. Clear ownership, better cross-team communication, and more realistic planning made a huge difference, and you saw the results of the changes we made internally in Phantom Liberty. Cyberpunk forced us to grow up as a studio; we have redone or iterated most of our procedures, and grew a habit of constantly optimizing and refining that process.

"Many of the improvements players see today were only possible because we reworked core systems instead of layering fixes on top"

How far back does Phantom Liberty actually go in terms of planning? Was the expansion always envisioned as another major chapter within Night City, or was there ever a version on the table where players would leave the city entirely?

Phantom Liberty existed as an idea relatively early, but its final form evolved over time. From the start, we felt Night City still had untold stories worth exploring, especially stories that leaned into espionage, power, and control. Dogtown allowed us to show a different face of the city, one that felt familiar but also dangerous and unpredictable.

With all of our expansions, the goal is to strengthen the main game so players who reach out for it many years after the release will feel how naturally it fits into overall design, and most of the time won’t even realize what was added in the expansion and what components were always there.

What inspired the decision to connect Phantom Liberty so directly to the base game’s endgame and outcomes? What did you want those added options to say thematically about V’s story?

Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG and ultimately a story about choices and consequences. We didn’t want Phantom Liberty to feel like a detached side story, it was supposed to be a part of the main narrative, neatly connected to the motivation of the main character. We wanted it to matter. By connecting it to the endgame, we could ask harder questions about V’s survival, sacrifice, and agency. Not every choice leads to a happy ending, but every choice says something about who V is and what they’re willing to give up.

"We didn’t want Phantom Liberty to feel like a detached side story, it was supposed to be a part of the main narrative, neatly connected to the motivation of the main character."

Our game is a narrative about terminal illness and dreams of becoming a legend getting crashed early by the inevitability of death. Placing an expansion as a narrative branch anywhere but in the middle of the story would have undermined the main premise of the game. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt we were able to continue Geralt’s story by placing Blood and Wine after the events of the main game, but because of the very nature of Cyberpunk 2077, hooking it up as a branch of the main story was the only strong option we saw.

Do you have a personal favourite ending? Which one resonates most with you in terms of story, emotional payoff, and character arcs, and why?

I don’t think I can pick a single “best” ending, but the endings that resonate with me most are the quieter ones, where victory is ambiguous and the emotional cost is clear. Cyberpunk isn’t about saving the world; it’s about surviving it, sometimes at the expense of your dreams. Endings that embrace that tension feel the most honest to me.

Many of them have this component and shades of meaning, designed to make the player question their decisions. The introduction of Johnny Silverhand is intentionally antagonistic; he is conflicted with himself and angry, ready to kill you to stop feeling. And throughout the game, V’s and the player’s perception of him change. It’s heartbreaking to see him go, and it’s moving to me when people decide to give up V’s body at the end so Johnny can live. This transformative arc takes empathy, and that is something beautiful about humans. Despite the beginning of this relationship, for some players compassion is the answer.

"It’s heartbreaking to see him go, and it’s moving to me when people decide to give up V’s body at the end so Johnny can live."

What are your favourite side quests across the base game and Phantom Liberty? Are there any that you feel best represent what Cyberpunk does at its strongest?

Our games are a melting pot of genres and themes. From this goulash and personal touch of many individual creators, who have common goals, emerge quests executed with care. From the base game, quests like Sinnerman or Dream On represent Cyberpunk at its strongest: morally uncomfortable, thematically dense, and deeply human. The storyline of Judy and Evelyn, contrasted with Flaming Crotch Man; the stories of Skippy and the sentient vending machine, together they deliver a blend of noir, tragedy, comedy, and pastiche all aligned by one stage: Night City.

In Phantom Liberty, I’m very proud of how side content blends seamlessly with the main narrative. Many of those quests don’t announce themselves as important, but they linger with players long after they’re finished. The spy storyline leads V through a variety of thriller- and action-inspired sequences, borrowing from documentaries, romances, thrillers, and horrors, moving between Bridge of Spies, Ocean’s Eleven, James Bond, and even Alien: Isolation, united all by the common, very clear narrative thread. Phantom Liberty demonstrated our developed thematic discipline, and portrayed how much variety can be found in a very narrowly defined spy theme.

Thanks again for your time. Is there anything you’d like to say directly to the community and fans who’ve stuck with Cyberpunk 2077 over the years?

Thank you, chooms! Your patience, critique, passion, mods, fan art, videos, and discussions pushed us to make Cyberpunk 2077 the game it is today. This journey wouldn’t have happened without you, and we don’t take that trust lightly. We’re incredibly grateful you stayed with us in Night City.