- CDPR’s joint-CEO says they got a bit too confident after the release of The Witcher 3.
- The game came together at a late stage, starting a magical way of thinking for the studio.
- That stopped with Cyberpunk 2077, which had one of the worst launches ever.
It took CDPR the third time to perfect the open-world RPG formula that came with The Witcher 3. Just when the studio was easing up, thinking it had figured out the perfect RPG development formula, the disaster with Cyberpunk 2077 occurred.
While Cyberpunk 2077 in its current state is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time, the launch state was something else entirely. The reason for such a mess started all the way back with Witcher 3’s development, which had made CDPR a little too confident.
Why it matters: Coming from Witcher 3, CDPR had high expectations to look forward to. Cyberpunk 2077 disappointed at launch, but it’s important to realise what went wrong.
Talking to the folks at PC Gamer, Michał Nowakowski, the joint CEO and member of the CDPR board, said that The Witcher 3’s success gave them a little too much confidence.
That gave us confidence,….because I think that was the beginning of a bit of magical thinking for the company, which only stopped after Cyberpunk.
Referring to Witcher 3’s release, Nowakowski recalled that the February 2015 build was so rough that they doubted they’d be able to fix the game in the final release stage with a day one patch, but ended up succeeding anyway.
The Witcher 3’s late completion didn’t help the studio’s thinking. According to Nowakowski, they had started thinking a magic fairy would come down and fix everything at the last stage, but the reality check came with Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 was mainly developed in isolation, so the integration process wasn’t smooth. Comparatively, Witcher games were easier to fix and more streamlined. After a disastrous launch, CDPR tore down the isolation process in development, which was a big change at the studio.
The studio is currently busy developing Witcher 4 and has vowed not to repeat the same mistakes twice since a redemption journey like Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t come as usual.
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[Staff Writer]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheerzahid03@gmail.com
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