According to game developer CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077's size is “far, far bigger” than any of its previous titles, and that includes The Witcher 3.
CD Projekt Red certainly set the bar pretty high when it comes to quality and game size with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Today, however, the studio has confirmed that its next project, Cyberpunk 2077, will be the biggest title that the development team has ever produced.
Cyberpunk 2077 was initially announced back in 2012, as CD Projekt Red revealed that the game was inspired as a fresh installment for the original tabletop version. As a first impression, the studio gave fans a taste of the game's aesthetics with a teaser image of a cybernetic being in a science fiction setting, but not much else is known for sure. Although it's now been divulged that Cyberpunk 2077's sheer breadth will surpass any of the company's previous outings, as far as in-game details are concerned, the Polish developer has remained relatively quiet on the matter, with CD Projekt Red's most recent update claiming that they wouldn't discuss specifics until 2017.
CD Projekt Red has remained true to their word on withholding information for the most part, as they have given no concrete clues as to what kind of gameplay Cyberpunk 2077 will contain, but the company's visual effects artist Jose Teixeira has revealed that the sci-fi title is more ambitious in terms of sheer scale and scope than Witcher 3. While speaking with MCV, Teixeira has said:
“Cyberpunk is far bigger than anything else that CD Projekt Red has done before. Far, far bigger. We’re really stepping into the unknown in terms of complexity and size and problems we encounter.”
Obviously, The Witcher 3's open world is massive, and when combined, the fantasy-RPG's DLC and expansion size is more enormous than the entirety of Witcher 2. As many fans will attest, the title's magnitude and high-caliber gameplay helped it move a massive amount of units after its launch day. In fact, The Witcher 3's sales hit 4 million copies in just 2 weeks after its release. Apparently, CD Projekt Red learned from Geralt's last adventure, and will be applying its lessons to Cyberpunk 2077, as Teixeria also says:
"The Witcher helped Cyberpunk quite a bit, because the game got so big and so complex that it really taught us. We really didn't know what was going to happen. If anything, working on The Witcher 3 was a really good and often brutal learning experience. Cyberpunk is going to benefit greatly from it. I can almost guarantee it.”
If the overwhelmingly positive reviews of Witcher 3 are any indication of CD Projekt Red's current creative powers, then the company's intention to refine its game-making practices even further is nothing but good news for fans. While many studios remain complacent and unchanging in their procedures involving releases' development and gameplay styles – the repetitiveness of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise immediately comes to mind – it seems as if CD Projekt Red is set to continue evolving with Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 is currently being developed for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while its release window is unknown at this point in time.