Things are going to look rather different for CD Projekt RED in the coming year, as the Polish developer moves away from Cyberpunk 2077 to work on multiple AAA games at the same time.
The news comes from a recent CD Projekt Group strategy presentation outlining changes in the developer’s business model, including adjustments to their in-house engine and a shift away from the traditional RPG genre.
While CDPR didn’t say what the specific games it plans to develop from 2022 are, the developer mentioned one is set in The Witcher universe, and the other is in the world of Cyberpunk 2077 — though apparently isn't connected to the existing Cyberpunk 2077 itself.
CDPR president Adam Kiciński hinted at Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer being cancelled and said that the company wants to make online a component of all games moving forward.
Read more: Cyberpunk 2077 1.3: Everything we know
CD Projekt RED Shifts Away from Cyberpunk 2077
The core of CDPR’s new strategy is developing multiple AAA games simultaneously, which involves several significant changes to the developer’s structure.
Moving forward, CDPR will increase its development team sizes and create both cross-project teams and engines that can contribute to new Witcher games and new Cyberpunk games.
One feature CDPR outlined is an engine system that adapts NPC routines into multiple games at once, possibly in response to criticisms of Cyberpunk 2077’s lackluster NPCs.
Don’t expect to learn about new CD Projekt games anytime soon, though.
The developer promised to adjust its marketing approach and won’t be promoting their games until closer to launch.
CDPR’s strategy video also mentioned their commitment to transformational development.
The Witcher 3 transformed a pure RPG into an action RPG, for example, while Cyberpunk 2077 added shooter elements.
In short, new Witcher games and new Cyberpunk games will likely look and play different from what we’re used to.
Finally, the developer said they’re also committed to expanding their franchises into mobile gaming, TV, online games, music, books, and more, which means more spinoffs and series collaborations are in store.
While it seems CDPR is leaving Cyberpunk 2077 behind, it's not completely finished with the game yet.
Aside from the two performance patches, there's still CP2077 DLC in the near future.
Read more: Cyberpunk 2077 DLC leaks