Sprawling open world adventure games have arguably become the signature of CD Projekt Red, a Poland-based video game developer and publisher. The company made its name with The Witcher trilogy, a series of open-world medieval fantasy games inspired by the book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. CD Projekt Red followed this up by a journey into a more modern open world with Cyberpunk 2077, set in the futuristic Night City.
Cyberpunk 2077, which released in December 2020, experienced a greatly troubled production. Initially announced as early as May 2012, the game experienced several delays due to factors including staff shortages, renewed focus on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt following its unexpected level of success, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The game received mixed reviews, with many criticizing it for displaying a number of game-breaking bugs, especially on previous generation consoles such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. CD Projekt Red was the target of multiple lawsuits regarding the number of bugs present in the game.
While Cyberpunk 2077 reportedly continues to display major issues even following the recent 1.3 update, CD Projekt Red seems to be working on a new project rumored to be an open world RPG. A recently posted job listing seeks an individual with previous open world development experience to "fill [CD Projekt Red's] game world with believable and exciting content consisting of communities and events that players will encounter."
It is unlikely that the project is related to Cyberpunk 2077, as CD Projekt has previously put out job listings openly seeking hires for Cyberpunk-associated projects and improvements. Whatever this project is, it is currently surrounded by secrecy. Fans, of course, hope that the mysterious open world title might be the long-awaited The Witcher 4, which may follow Ciri's journey following the ostensible retirement of series protagonist Geralt at the end of Wild Hunt. Representatives for CD Projekt RED had previously reported that the title was in very early development, although a release date prior to the year 2025 was not anticipated.
In the meantime, CD Projekt Red has many projects already on their plate. Both The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 are in the process of being upgraded for next-generation consoles including the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. While initially announced for release in 2021, rumors now suggest that these upgrades may be delayed to 2022 or later. A recent statement by CD Projekt's SVP of business development, Michal Nowakowski, indicated that the company wished to learn from previous experiences and not rush the production of these upgrades in order to meet projected deadlines. Improvements on Cyberpunk 2077 will reportedly continue, as CD Projekt Red has hired The Witcher and Cyberpunk modders to work on the game in the wake of the 1.3 update's mixed reception.