Late last year, Polish video game developer CD Projekt Red announced that multiple new projects are in active development, much to fans' excitement. These projects include several new titles in the Witcher franchise, as well as two Cyberpunk games, and even a brand-new IP. While only Cyberpunk 2077's DLC expansion, Phantom Liberty, has been given a release window of early 2023 so far, more news on these upcoming games should start to come through this year. Hopefully, by the time 2023 draws to a close, fans will have a rough timeline for when most of CD Projekt Red's new games will release.
2022 represented a year of triumph for CD Projekt Red. Following 2020's disastrous launch of the futuristic first-person shooter Cyberpunk 2077, the developer came under intense scrutiny for the plethora of technical bugs and glitches that plagued the title in its early days. Many hours of hard work were devoted to rectifying this, culminating in the next-gen version, which launched in February 2022, finally receiving the plaudits that CD Projekt Red had originally hoped it would. The game's resurgence couldn't have come at a better time, with an expansion on the horizon and a full-blown sequel in the works too.
Cyberpunk 2077's First Major Expansion: Phantom Liberty
While news of Cyberpunk 2077 getting its first big-budget DLC expansion was not particularly surprising, news of the DLC's story, titled Phantom Liberty, certainly raised a few eyebrows. The story-driven expansion is set to take place in a brand-new district of Night City. Not only does it feature the returning character of Johnny Silverhand, who is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Keanu Reeves, but it also adds another veteran actor, Idris Elba, into the mix. Elba is playing the mysterious role of Solomon Reed, an agent of the New United States of America. Johnny Silverhand's inclusion in the plot throws up many questions, and fans are confused as to where this expansion will sit in the canonical timeline, but more details should emerge soon with Phantom Liberty tipped for an 'early 2023' release.
Everything in Development at CD Projekt Red
At the time of writing, CD Projekt Red has more than a couple of irons in the fire. Along with Phantom Liberty, a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is also in development. The as-yet-unnamed title is known as Project Orion, but it is still a significant way off, with 2023 signaling the start of what the developer has called its research phase. Nothing is known about the game's plot or characters yet, and it may or may not be a continuation of the first game's narrative.
Aside from Cyberpunk 2077, the developer's other big franchise is the Witcher series, and there is plenty of activity on that front, too. The Witcher 4, otherwise known as Project Polaris, is confirmed to be in development, and is reportedly a story-driven open-world RPG built on The Witcher 3's legacy which is probably two or three years away. The game is being built using Unreal Engine 5 and is confirmed to be the start of a new trilogy. The original trilogy's release cycle spanned eight years and multiple platforms, with the original Witcher being a PC exclusive. It seems CD Projekt Red is keen to improve efficiency this time around and is targeting a six-year release cycle for the two sequels once Project Orion releases.
In even better news for fans of The Witcher, the new trilogy aren't the only upcoming games to look forward to. In fact, two more Witcher games are in active development. The first is known as Project Sirius, which is said to be an innovative take on The Witcher Universe which is being developed by CD Projekt Red-owned studio Molasses Flood. It is currently in its pre-production phase and only very limited details are known.
The second of these titles is a remake of the original Witcher game, rebuilt from the ground up, which is being developed by another third-party studio full of ex-Witcher developers: Fool's Theory. This is especially exciting for the many fans who didn't get to play the original at the time due to it being PC exclusive. On top of this news, both of these games are said to feature a brand new multiplayer component, to complement the single-player campaigns.
As if all of this wasn't enough, CD Project Red has also been working on a brand-new IP since 2021, which is completely unrelated to The Witcher and Cyberpunk. Mysteriously known as Project Hadar, the IP is still in its conceptual phase, with lots of groundwork currently being laid prior to the game going into development. Fans may have to wait a while longer for any kind of significant news on this one.
Why it May Be a Quiet Year for CD Projekt Red
Perhaps more so than any other developer, CD Projekt Red has learned the hard way not to release games until they are fully ready. The backlash it received for the poor state that Cyberpunk 2077 was in at launch was something that has taken two years to properly remedy, and CD Projekt Red certainly won't want a repeat of that any time soon. Aside from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, which looks set to release soon, the developer's other projects all appear to be some way off.
At best, fans could hope for more substantial news on some of these other games as the year develops, but realistically, it is extremely unlikely any of the other titles will see the light of day before 2024 at the absolute earliest. CD Projekt Red is much more likely to take as much time as it needs on each project, and if that means only very sporadic updates throughout 2023, this is unlikely to phase the developer. After winning back the trust of many of its fans, the Polish developer won't be in a hurry to risk losing it ever again.