PCG Article Actually, 3 recent PCG articles about CD Projekt's future plans

[mainer]

The articles:
CD Projekt announces new Witcher trilogy, 3 new games over 6 years | PC Gamer
Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a full sequel | PC Gamer
The next Witcher and Cyberpunk games will have multiplayer | PC Gamer

One would hope that after the disastrous initial launch of CP2077, that CDPR would have learned how not to market & release a game and know that they need to resurrect their reputation. I know that they've grown in size in recent years, but I can't help but wonder if they're trying to do too much in a short time period. So I personally have some concerns, even though I know you, or I, or any corporation has to plan for the future. It just feels like maybe they should have kept some of this information under wraps.

Cyberpunk 2077 getting a sequel. I expected that, eventually. But they're still working on patches and the promised DLC content (story based DLC).

The new Witcher series, 3 games being produced and released within a 6-year period. Of course we don't know when that "6-year period" actually starts, but it feels like another rushed timeline to me where in-depth content isn't fully developed.

Multiplayer for the next Cyberpunk and Witcher games. I know a lot of you love multiplayer & co-op options, but I wonder how this will also affect the depth of the single player experience. Is it going to feel "tacked on", and is the single player game story going to be shallow compared to The Witcher 3 and it's DLCs?

I don't know, but I have serious concerns that CDPR hasn't really learned from the negative experience of the CP2077 release, and that they're trying to do too much at once, resulting in shallow games.

And where the hell is the Witcher 3 Remaster that they were supposedly working on? I haven't seen any information in months that it's still even in development.

Those are some of my concerns, how about you?

 

[WoodenSaucer]

That's craziness. Hopefully they have several dev teams. Why can't Bethesda get it in gear like that for TES VI?

 

[Brian Boru]

Multiplayer for the next Cyberpunk and Witcher games

That's the big eye-catcher for me. They may be going for the cash hose via in-game purchases & txns. Couldn't lose with the profile of those 2 franchises.

they're trying to do too much at once

Could be, but at least it's a planned strategy, announced 18 months ago—work on multiple AAA games and expansions in parallel.

Hopefully they have several dev teams

I know of 4 for sure: Warsaw, Cracow, Wroclaw and Vancouver.
There may be other virtual teams, and probably plenty of work is outsourced. They have over 500 workers at the moment—I think those are direct, in-premises people, but not clear.

I doubt people or talent will be a problem. Project management will be the killer in their new multi-track dev process, they won't learn that in a year.

 

[Zimbaly]

They should just combine it all into one game CyberWitchers 1277.

 

[Sarafan]

I know that they've grown in size in recent years, but I can't help but wonder if they're trying to do too much in a short time period.

Once they learn Unreal Engine 5 good enough it'll be quite easy to prepare next games. The first one will be the most troublesome and that's why we'll have to wait at least to 2025 for the next big Witcher game. It should get much easier and faster afterwards. Currently the company is prepared to work on two AAA titles and two side projects simultaneously. Right now one AAA game is The Witcher 4 (or whatever it'll be called) and the second CP2077: Phantom Liberty. Apart from that they're still working on Gwent and some side Witcher project developed by Molasses Flood. The company is also preparing to open a studio in the US which is a very good move, considering that there might be currently problems to hire enough qualified and talented people in Poland that can work on AAA titles to fill three studios.

I don't know, but I have serious concerns that CDPR hasn't really learned from the negative experience of the CP2077 release, and that they're trying to do too much at once, resulting in shallow games.

No worries, they've learnt. One of the proofs is engine change. We have to remember that Red Engine was developed solely by CDPR. Work on UE5 will be supported by Epic. It gives a huge potential and almost certainty that the final product won't be as bugged as CP2077 on the release date.

And where the hell is the Witcher 3 Remaster that they were supposedly working on? I haven't seen any information in months that it's still even in development.

It's still in the development. It should be released in less than 3 months. The date was last confirmed in September. Since then there was no delay announced, so we should trust in the Q4 release.

 

[mainer]

An interesting and related article published yesterday by PCG:
Is 5 new Witcher games too many Witcher games? | PC Gamer

The article raises some interesting questions about over saturation of The Witcher IP in such a short period of time. I'm not saying it will, and neither does the article, it just raises opinions, speculation, and possible scenarios. The timeline between release of The Witcher (2007) to The Witcher 3 (2015) is only 8 years, and as CD Projekt is much larger and more experienced now, 6 years may not be out of the range of possibility.

I'm seriously rooting for them to succeed. I know they made some errors in judgement with CP2077, and their reputation took a hit, but the talent is there. CD Projekt is one of my favorite game developers (still in existence) for strong, single player RPGs, along with Bethesda, Larian, Piranha Bytes, Obsidian, and Bioware* (*asterisk because of all the internal turmoil). I do have lingering concerns as to how much the multiplayer components will affect the single player experience.

The company is also preparing to open a studio in the US which is a very good move, considering that there might be currently problems to hire enough qualified and talented people in Poland that can work on AAA titles to fill three studios.

I hadn't heard that, but it is promising news, as it does give them access to even more talent.

No worries, they've learnt. One of the proofs is engine change. We have to remember that Red Engine was developed solely by CDPR. Work on UE5 will be supported by Epic. It gives a huge potential and almost certainty that the final product won't be as bugged as CP2077 on the release date.

Switching to UE5 is definitely exciting, as the various footage I've seen from UE5 demos is really amazing. As long as they're able to maintain the NPC, character, and story depth, those games could end up being truly amazing. I still have some concerns, but I also have hope.

It's still in the development. It should be released in less than 3 months. The date was last confirmed in September. Since then there was no delay announced, so we should trust in the Q4 release.

This is also great news to me, as I haven't read anything about the remaster for many months. I've been wanting to replay The Witcher 3 with all DLCs but have been holding off for the remaster. To have that released before the end of 2022 would be a great Christmas (or end of year) present.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I wish Bethesda would switch to UE5 for TES VI. I also wish Nintendo would use it for some of their big games.

 

[Sarafan]

I hadn't heard that, but it is promising news, as it does give them access to even more talent.

From what they’ve said appears that the US branch will be working mainly on CP2077 sequel.

Switching to UE5 is definitely exciting, as the various footage I've seen from UE5 demos is really amazing.

I have one main concern. A lot of games made on previous UE versions look quite similar. I fear that CDPR games will share this fate as well. We have to wait for first games on UE5 to see if the problem persists with the newest version.

This is also great news to me, as I haven't read anything about the remaster for many months. I've been wanting to replay The Witcher 3 with all DLCs but have been holding off for the remaster. To have that released before the end of 2022 would be a great Christmas (or end of year) present.

The latest date confirmation is from the beginning of September from a meeting with the investors. I also hope there won’t be any further delays.

 

[ZedClampet]

Well, we all know the mistakes that were made in 2077, and I choose to believe that they've learned from those mistakes and won't repeat them. Given that belief, I think it's great that they are expanding their operations and planning on an aggressive release schedule, and I hope they pull it off with some amazing games. Like @WoodenSaucer I wish Bethesda would get more aggressive, too. We need the good guys to make more games.

 

[mainer]

We need the good guys to make more games.

Absolutely! Some days it feels like the number of "good-guy" developers shrinks or become absorbed into a corporate environment.

I have one main concern. A lot of games made on previous UE versions look quite similar. I fear that CDPR games will share this fate as well. We have to wait for first games on UE5 to see if the problem persists with the newest version.

I am completely ignorant about the workings of game engines, and I can only go by what I see. The UE55 seems exciting to me based on tech demos, and it seems like open world games would look truly great, but as @Sarafan stated, we won't really know until UE5 games start appearing. The Witcher 3 had a unique look and feel to me, different from any game I've played, and I would hate to see that lost. Maybe UE5 will be flexible enough for different game developers to tweak it to their own personal visions.

I wish Bethesda would switch to UE5 for TES VI.

I wish Bethesda would get more aggressive, too.

As far as the Creation Engine that Bethesda uses goes, the thing I like about it is that it's apparently easy to mod with the Creation Kit tools they release. I say apparently, because I'm basing that off of the number and variety of mods available on the Nexus, numbering in the tens of thousands, for games like Skyrim (original 32bit version), Skyrim SE, and Fallout 4. No other game comes close to that, and even older games like Morrowind, Oblivion, FO3, and FONV which use the Gamebryo Engine (on which the Creation Enging was based) have thousands of mods.

I mod games, but I don't create mods, so maybe @ZedClampet knows more about the different modding capabilities of various game engines, as I know he's created mods himself. The only time I've created mods was back in Morrowind using the Gamebryo Engine, and those were all houses/home bases and dungeons that I used for myself and never published. But even for me, who'd never grown up in the PC generation, I found it really easy to learn.

My rambling point being, is that I'm glad they're still using it for Starfield & ES6, though I believe now its dubbed Creation Engine 2. Because the mod community will end up creating thousands of mods for those games, making them even better and viable in later years. Games like Skyrim are kept alive because of an active modding community, and I wouldn't want to loose that.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I am completely ignorant about the workings of game engines, and I can only go by what I see. The UE55 seems exciting to me based on tech demos, and it seems like open world games would look truly great, but as @Sarafan stated, we won't really know until UE5 games start appearing. The Witcher 3 had a unique look and feel to me, different from any game I've played, and I would hate to see that lost. Maybe UE5 will be flexible enough for different game developers to tweak it to their own personal visions.

That's a good point about modding. From what I understand, it's very easy to work modding capabilities into an Unreal Engine game. But I have no idea if that would be compatible with how Nexus does things or not. So if it would mess up the whole system currently in place, they definitely wouldn't want to change it up. But just from a standalone perspective, you can definitely make modding capabilities in a UE game.

 

[Pifanjr]

An interesting and related article published yesterday by PCG:
Is 5 new Witcher games too many Witcher games? | PC Gamer

The article raises some interesting questions about over saturation of The Witcher IP in such a short period of time. I'm not saying it will, and neither does the article, it just raises opinions, speculation, and possible scenarios. The timeline between release of The Witcher (2007) to The Witcher 3 (2015) is only 8 years, and as CD Projekt is much larger and more experienced now, 6 years may not be out of the range of possibility.

I think this is a good point. The Assassin's Creed series has done fairly well while putting out a new game every year or so on average (I think, I didn't check). However, despite absolutely loving the series, I did get burned out on them at some point. I think it's a valid concern this might happen with the Witcher games as well.

 

[Krud]

Disclaimer upfront: I haven't been keeping close tabs on all the CDPR updates, so this is just based solely on the above-posted article blurbs. Having said that, this feels less like they're trying to make it up to the fans/players, and more like they're trying to make it up to the investors, as in "See? Look at all the projects we have in motion! We'll turn those stock prices around, you'll see." (Only in corporate-speak, of course.)

As a player, I don't want them juggling this many plates, I don't care how many new teams they've supposedly added. They had ages to focus on Cyberpunk 2077, and it still came out the way it did (though I understand they've since majorly turned things around with recent patches, which I still need to try out.) As for the whole "Introducing multiplayer to most of our new games to enrich the single-player experience," yeah, no. I obviously don't speak for everyone, but as someone was, for instance, annoyed at the multiplayer requirement of Mass Effect 3 when it debuted, I am happy to have my single-player experiences un-enriched by multiplayer.

I'm glad there will be a Cyberpunk sequel, though hopefully it won't take away from any efforts to further improve the first game. I really don't want to be skeptical or negative about all this, because CD Projekt is still easily one of my favorite game companies even just for their GoG efforts alone, and for me at least they ride on a wave of goodwill from that. But I can't pretend that Cyberpunk's release state didn't plant a seed of doubt in my mind about them going forward. I don't want them to overcompensate or double-down in a way that ends up disastrous for them or their reputation with players.

Anyway, I wish them luck on their plans and hope it all turns out amazing, and that they avoid becoming the next Ubisoft, cranking out bloated mediocre sequels. (Though I've heard good things about the last two Assassin's Creed games. I might give that series another try.)