- CDPR’s co-CEO says teams cannot make games like The Witcher 4 by being cost-driven.
- He believes that Rockstar Games likely didn’t care about the budget when making GTA 6.
- The statement is interesting, since AAA game budgets are currently major concerns across the industry.
AAA games have become more and more expensive to make with time, and CDPR’s The Witcher 4 is the perfect example of one such game.
However, while CD Projekt Red remains conscious about its budget to an extent, the team believes it cannot place too great an emphasis on this aspect if it intends to make ambitious titles.
Why it matters: AAA games have become so expensive to make that even breaking even for many new releases is becoming a challenge.
CDPR co-CEO Michal Nowakowski recently spoke to The Game Business and noted that the team is not cost-driven.
He highlighted that the studio doesn’t necessarily have an unlimited budget for every project, but it doesn’t start out with cost being the main factor behind a project. As per the co-CEO, ambitious games like The Witcher 4 cannot be made if a team is cost-driven.
He also discussed GTA 6, which is expected to be the most expensive AAA game to date, saying that Rockstar Games likely did not place a huge emphasis on costs when making the game.
The first thing we always look at is whether the quality is there. I definitely wouldn’t say that this is a cost-driven development. If you want to have a cost-driven development, you can’t make a game like The Witcher 4.

Of course, Michal Nowakowski’s comment highlights the major problem surrounding AAA development right now. Practically everyone understands that AAA costs are getting out of hand, but teams also have no real way of bringing them down without disappointing audiences and fans.
What do you think about the CDPR co-CEO’s statement?
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[News Reporter]
Bawal is an MBBS student by day and a gaming journalist by night. He has been gaming since childhood, growing fond of the creativity and innovation of the industry. His career as a gaming journalist started one year ago, and his journey has allowed him to write reviews, previews, and features for various sites. Bawal has also been cited in reputed websites such as Screenrant, PCGamesN, WCCFTech, GamesRadar, and more.


