00:00First, CD Projekt Red's CEO admits some players may never return after Cyberpunk 2077 launch.
00:07CD Projekt Red's leadership still believes the studio is working through the long shadow cast by Cyberpunk 2077's troubled launch,
00:15with joint CEO Michael Nowakowski suggesting that full player trust may never be fully restored.
00:22In a recent interview with Edge via GamesRadar, Nowakowski reflected on the backlash surrounding Cyberpunk 2077's release,
00:30describing the period as heartbreaking for the studio.
00:34He reiterated that CD Projekt Red's reputation has long been one of its strongest assets,
00:40but acknowledged that the damage from the launch was significant and long-lasting.
00:44I'm not 100% convinced we went through the full redemption arc, Nowakowski said.
00:49I'm convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that's a fair thing.
00:54But I do hope we will be able to make it back.
00:56If not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next.
01:00The comments reflect a cautious optimism within the studio,
01:03even as Cyberpunk 2077 has experienced a strong recovery in the year since launch,
01:09bolstered by major updates, expansions, and renewed player interest.
01:12Despite that turnaround, CD Projekt Red appears aware that some players may remain unconvinced regardless of post-launch improvements.
01:22The statement also reads as a broader acknowledgement of how difficult it can be for major studios to recover from
01:28high-profile launches
01:29in the modern gaming landscape, where first impressions often define long-term perception.
01:34In the same interview, Nowakowski also addressed the studio's long-term development strategy.
01:41While CD Projekt Red intends to increase output over time,
01:44he stressed that the company does not want to become a studio that releases major titles on an annual cycle.
01:51Our dream is to be making more games, although we never want to turn into the studio that's going to
01:56be launching a big game every year, he explained.
01:59It may happen, but this is not the goal.
02:01We have a rough 10-year rolling plan, but the goal is not to flood the games market with CDPR
02:07games.
02:08Instead, the studio says it plans to focus on a smaller number of high-profile franchises,
02:13primarily The Witcher and Cyberpunk, rather than expanding into a wide portfolio of intellectual properties.
02:20Whether The Witcher 4 will serve as a true turning point for public perception remains to be seen,
02:27but eternally, CD Projekt Red appears to be under no illusion that its reputation has fully recovered,
02:32or that it ever completely will.
02:37Okay, um, I get it.
02:41There's no way that they ever will win back everyone they burned with the launch of Cyberpunk 2077.
02:47There's always going to be at least one person, and, um, I'm sure it's not just one, I'm sure it's
02:54multiple people,
02:55that will never trust, uh, CD Projekt Red again with, uh, the disaster that was Cyberpunk 2077's launch.
03:06But, it's also the same thing that happened with No Man's Sky, uh, different developer,
03:10but when No Man's Sky came out, everyone said it was boring, there was no content,
03:16it was, uh, just, uh, empty game, basically.
03:21Um, and, look how that turned out.
03:24Uh, it ended up, once more content got added, uh, it became one of everyone's favorite games.
03:31So, there's definitely, um, I don't think, and it's not like Cyberpunk 2077 was an awful game.
03:40Um, I never played it at launch, but enough people gave it a chance where they came back for the
03:49extra content,
03:50they came back for the fixes, and it, they were able to at least win some of those people that
03:55were initially burned back.
03:58Um, so, I don't think, uh, that, like, any long-term damage that is substantial from the launch of Cyberpunk
04:072077.
04:08It's kind of like No Man's Sky for Microsoft.
04:12Just, at least I think Microsoft Game Studios made, uh, No Man's Sky.
04:17Just, um, but I could be wrong on that.
04:20Um, but anyway, uh, Cyberpunk 2077, um,
04:27you know, ever, no one talks bad about it anymore.
04:30That's the, that's the thing.
04:32Now, if you're asking what someone thinks of Cyberpunk 2077 that played it,
04:36and didn't quit right after the launch, or write it off right after the launch,
04:41um, you're not gonna get someone trashing a game.
04:44You're gonna, uh, you're gonna, so,
04:47I think that will, you know, I think enough players will forgive you where,
04:53if you don't do that again, um,
04:56release something that's not ready to be released,
05:00then you're not gonna have to worry about it.
05:03Because, like I said, the hate that's, uh,
05:05originally existed for Cyberpunk 2077
05:08is no longer there anymore.
05:11Uh, now, CD Projekt Red, um,
05:14also said that they don't want to become a game, uh, studio that, um,
05:19releases triple-A games every year.
05:22Good.
05:25Uh, we, cause we see this with the sports franchises that release every year.
05:29I mean, you got, you know, any, any sports franchise, uh, 2K,
05:36or the Madden series, um, MLB The Show,
05:41I could go on and on.
05:44These games have so little, um,
05:48between entries in the series,
05:51you would think it would just be easier on everyone
05:53if they just released a roster update
05:55for, as downloadable content,
05:57instead of having to release a whole brand new game
05:59and expect people to pay, uh, pay full price for it again.
06:05So, um, good.
06:07If, I mean, even Call of Duty, to be fair,
06:10Call of Duty, yeah, they released a game every year,
06:13but they had three different development teams working on it.
06:16So, like, when this studio released the game one year,
06:20then next year was from this studio,
06:22next year was from this studio,
06:23and then the first studio
06:26released their next game three years later.
06:30So, I don't know if that's still how it works,
06:33but that's how at least it used to work.
06:35They had three different development teams,
06:37and they all, that's why you probably got
06:40Modern Warfare, like, Modern Warfare 3,
06:42the original, um, no, no, no,
06:45Modern Warfare 2, excuse me.
06:46Then you got Black Ops.
06:48Then what was, then was Modern Warfare 3 next,
06:51or was it something else between
06:52Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops, and Modern Warfare 3?
06:57I think 3 came out,
06:58I think Modern Warfare 3 came out
06:59after the first Black Ops.
07:04Again, I think, so, you know,
07:05if I get, if, if I'm wrong,
07:07let me know in the comments,
07:08but I, but I think that's, um, how it went.
07:13And yeah, you know,
07:14it's better to release,
07:16it's better to take years between every game
07:20than just be on this annual release schedule,
07:23because, um, even, uh, the people
07:26who released, um, WWE, at least,
07:28the, used to, they used to develop at Ukes,
07:32they said that, uh, they were always
07:34in crunch time, uh, they said
07:36when, like, SmackDown vs. Raw 2010
07:38hit the store, uh, on release day,
07:40they had already been working on
07:41SmackDown vs. Raw 2011.
07:44And, uh, back when the games
07:47were released in October,
07:49um, someone, uh, toured,
07:52like, a Ukes office in January,
07:55and you saw pillows and blankets
07:58under the desk.
07:59Developers were sleeping under their desk
08:00just to get the games out
08:02every single year.
08:06So, you, you know,
08:08you're gonna burn people,
08:09you're gonna burn your employees out
08:11if you tried an every year release,
08:13especially if it doesn't have to be
08:14every year.
08:16And then, you got, you know,
08:18what, how, um,
08:21if you burn your employees out
08:23because they're so tired from working,
08:24are they gonna have ideas
08:25or what to add?
08:29No, that's gonna dry up soon.
08:31You know, sure, they'll come up
08:33with a thing here or there,
08:35but if they will,
08:36but if they have to release
08:37a $60 game every single year,
08:39or now it's more,
08:42you know, people are gonna be like,
08:44what am I getting
08:44for my $60, $70, $80?
08:47So, I know CD Projekt Red said
08:50over the next 10 years,
08:52they plan, they're planning
08:53three Witcher games.
08:54So, like, we should get
08:55The Witcher 4, 5, and 6
08:57over the next 10 years.
08:59Um, and even that,
09:03that sounds like a big undertaking
09:04because even though it's
09:05three games in 10 years,
09:07they're not small games.
09:09they're, they're the Witcher games.
09:12So, yeah, I don't think,
09:14uh, to recap,
09:15I don't think they burned
09:17too much trust to bounce back
09:19from the disastrous launch
09:20of Cyberpunk 2077.
09:22Did every single person come back?
09:24Obviously not.
09:25Every person, you know,
09:27there's at least one person out there
09:28that will probably never,
09:30uh, trust CD Projekt Red again,
09:32and you're going to have that
09:33if you have a bad game,
09:35especially at launch.
09:37Um, good that they don't want
09:40to release games every year
09:41because with how big games are
09:43and how expensive they are,
09:45you do not want to, um,
09:48that's going to, that's,
09:49if you're trying to release
09:50a series of games every,
09:52you know, once per year,
09:54uh, you're going to burn out
09:55your employees,
09:56and then it's going to show.
09:58And then the games aren't going
10:00to have that value
10:01where people should buy them
10:02every year anyway.
10:05Um, as for The Witcher 4,
10:07will that bring people back?
10:08I think it'll bring a lot
10:09of core fans back, uh,
10:11for CD Projekt Red.
10:13Um, you know, what,
10:16what do they have planned
10:17other than CD,
10:18uh, other than The Witcher 4,
10:205, and 6?
10:22Um, if their 10-year plan
10:24doesn't get derailed or changed.
10:27I have no idea
10:28what else they have,
10:30but we'll see how things go
10:32with The Witcher 4
10:33and see what CD Projekt Red,
10:35uh, does after.
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