Developing AAA games is a labor-intensive process that can cost millions of dollars and take years of work before a game goes gold and is released. CD Projekt Red, the developer behind both The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, is now looking to streamline the development process and begin developing its two big franchises simultaneously.
CD Projekt Red's The Witcher series, based on novels of the same name, is one of video game's most beloved franchises, and the latest entry, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was a critical and commercial success. The developer's newest game, Cyberpunk 2077, has had a much more mixed reception due to its massive amount glitches and technical issues. Now, CD Projekt revealed its new approach to game development in a strategy update video to avoid situations like Cyberpunk 2077 and prepare for future projects in development.
In the video, the leadership team at CD Projekt Red announced that as part of the "RED 2.0 Transformation Plan," development on Cyberpunk and The Witcher would run parallel, with members of the development team working across both projects. The leadership team also mentions that the changes will improve their content quality and further develop a sustainable work environment. The video itself is more for investors than fans and is primarily concerned with boosting confidence in the company's direction after a tough year and the departure of senior members of the development team.
The next game in The Witcher franchises is probably years away, so it makes sense that the developers implement these changes now. In the strategy update, the leadership team talks about centralizing the RED engine so two teams can work on both their flagship series at the same time. The teams can continue to support Cyberpunk 2077 while using what they learn to improve The Witcher series' development. Head of productions and CTO, Paweł Zawodny, believes that if the company achieves its goal with the "RED 2.0 Transformation Plan," then Parallel AAA development will begin in 2022.
The plan mentioned in the update seems to address many criticisms about CD Projekt Red's development process, even those outside of its games. The company came under fire last year as it backtracked on its statement that no one would have to crunch on the Cyberpunk 2077's development, as multiple sources confirmed that the development team had indeed crunched ahead of the game's release. The video mentions that one of the "RED 2.0 Transformation Plan" goals is improving the work environment, but whether that will end crunch all together seems unlikely.
The backlash to the Cyberpunk 2077 broke a lot of consumer goodwill that CD Projekt Red had with its fans and possibly even affected the company's relationship with Sony as it removed the game from the PlayStation Store. Whether this new approach will prove effective in preventing another release like Cyberpunk 2077, only time will tell, but the "RED 2.0 Transformation Plan" could be a good first step.