CD Projekt Red announced a new Witcher game with a logo and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, but in an open look at its long-term future, the Polish company revealed a few more projects in those universes. These new games include a Cyberpunk sequel, new Witcher trilogy, an “innovative” Witcher game, and completely new IP.
— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) October 4, 2022
Most of these games received their own slide in the above thread. Project Orion is the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel that will “prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe,” a somewhat veiled reference to how the studio botched the first game’s launch and overpromised throughout its lengthy marketing cycle. CD Projekt Red also noted that, Phantom Liberty, the upcoming DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, is in its final production phase and currently has over 350 people developing it.
The Witcher section is far more complicated. Firstly, there is Project Polaris, which is being “built on the legacy of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.” It is currently in pre-production at CD Projekt Red and will be the beginning of an all-new Witcher trilogy. The slide also notes that all three games will be delivered over a six-year period after Polaris comes out, which seems incredibly optimistic for any team making games as big as this, especially when that team has committed to having a healthier working environment (as outlined in the video below) and not crunching.
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Project Sirius is an “innovative take” on the Witcher series and will have multiplayer. It is currently being led by Molasses Flood, which created The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow and was acquired by CDPR in late 2021, with support from CD Projekt Red. No further details were given, but seeing as though Molasses Flood has developed survival games in the past and how this game is an “innovative take” on the franchise, it’s possible that this untitled Witcher game will also be in the survival genre.
Project Canis Majoris is the final new Witcher game listed and will be a “story-driven, single-player open-world RPG set within the Witcher universe.” This title will be contracted to a third-party team that is made up on ex-Witcher veterans. There are no other details listed, so this one is still mostly a mystery.
Hadar is the new IP and is being developed by CD Projekt Red. SVP of Business Development Michał Nowakowski noted that this wasn’t a game yet, as the team is extremely early on and set on developing the foundation first.
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CD Projekt Red released a video of these plans, which contained a few more nuggets of information. Despite not having a specific date, The Witcher 3‘s PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X|S upgrade and PC patch are still slated for late 2022. Unreal Engine 5, as was already confirmed for Project Polaris, will be the engine the developer uses going forward in order to boost its “effectiveness and predictability” in the long run and “deliver [its] creative vision.” CD Projekt Red said it even wants to “introduce multiplayer experiences” in “most” of its future titles, but was not specific. Players can also continue to expect more non-gaming experiences in the Cyberpunk and Witcher universes.
CD Projekt is growing to meet these goals and is opening up new studio in Boston, Massachusetts near Molasses Flood and will help develop Sirius and, when the two are combined with its Vancouver team, will make up CD Projekt Red North America. This Vancouver subsect will be lead development on Orion.
CD Projekt Red’s YouTube channel also had smaller, more focused updates that touched on its technology pipeline and how Unreal Engine 5 is making development easier, its commitment to making a healthier studio with various outreach programs and green initiatives, and how it is planning to put its games in different mediums and on a whole host of other products.
