Nearly six years have passed since Cyberpunk 2077 first hit shelves, yet the echoes of its disastrous launch still reverberate through CD Projekt RED. The Polish studio remains acutely aware of the fallout from one of the most contentious debuts in modern gaming history, and its leadership now concedes that the path to redemption is far from complete, especially in the eyes of its most disillusioned fans.

In a recent interview, co-CEO Michal Nowakowski addressed the lasting impact of the futuristic RPG’s troubled arrival, openly admitting that a portion of the player base may never fully restore their faith in the company.

“I’m not 100 per cent convinced we went through the full redemption arc,” Nowakowski said. “I’m convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that’s a fair thing.”

Cyberpunk 2077 y The Witcher IV

CD Projekt RED Hopes The Witcher 4 Will Win People’s Trust Back

The December 2020 launch of Cyberpunk 2077 dealt a severe blow to the studio’s hard-won reputation. Despite shattering sales records, the game was plagued by crippling technical issues, visual bugs, and frequent crashes, problems that hit the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions especially hard.

Over the following years, CD Projekt RED rolled out a steady stream of updates that gradually overhauled the experience, and today, the title is widely regarded as one of the most robust RPGs on the market, with more than 35 million copies sold worldwide.

Still, Nowakowski insists that commercial success alone cannot mend the fractured relationship with every skeptic.

“But I do hope we will be able to make it back – if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next,” he said.

The Witcher nueva trilogía

The Cyberpunk 2077 Crisis Changed CD Projekt Red

The executive also revealed that the crisis forced a fundamental internal evolution at the studio.

Rather than breaking the team, the ordeal forged a more seasoned and resilient group better equipped to handle the immense pressures of large-scale development. That hard-won experience, he noted, is something they intend to carry into every future project.

At the same time, Nowakowski made it clear that CD Projekt RED has no ambition to become a yearly-release franchise factory. While the company is charting long-term expansion plans for its flagship IPs, its core philosophy remains unchanged: prioritize ambitious, high-quality titles over market saturation.

Looking ahead, the studio already has an ambitious slate in motion. In addition to the highly anticipated The Witcher 4, teams are actively working on a full remake of the original The Witcher, as well as a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, tentatively referred to as Cyberpunk 2, which has now entered pre-production.

Fans of Geralt of Rivia will not wait for long as a surprise expansion for The Witcher 3, titled Songs of the Past, is reportedly slated for release in 2027.

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