Since the end of September, Cyberpunk 2077 is a complete game. The extension Phantom Liberty has been delivered, the patches have been released, and the team is preparing the release of an Ultimate version integrating all the content. From now on, CD Projekt is focusing all its attention on the next game in The Witcher license.
With Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red really hasn’t gone far from corrections. The release of the game was catastrophic, and the studio had to rework its production for almost three years. A relentless effort that pays off, since Cyberpunk 2077 and its Phantom Liberty expansion now enjoy excellent reviews.
But since October 2022, we know that the studio is thinking far, with several projects including a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, a new The Witcher trilogy, or even a brand new license for the moment known as Hadar.
Next Witcher game enters active development
In October 2022, and while we were waiting to find out if CD Projekt would succeed in bringing Cyberpunk 2077 back to the forefront and publishing an expansion worthy of the studio’s reputation, a communication intended for investors set the Internet in turmoil. The studio announced that its planning for the coming years included a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 (Project Orion), a new The Witcher trilogy, another RPG and a multi-game in the witcher universe, but also a brand new license and a remake of the first The Witcher. The latter will, however, be developed externally by Fool’s Theory.
The title that interests us today is Polaris, the first game in the new The Witcher trilogy. It is in fact this title which now occupies the majority of the studio’s workforce. In its financial statements, the studio presents the distribution of teams, and in the most recent, we note that more than half of the developers are now working on The Witcher: Polaris.
In the weeks and months to come, they will be accompanied by the Cyberpunk 2077 teams, who are preparing the final updates, the release of the Ultimate edition, or in the process of being transferred. By June 2024, there will be more than 400 working on The Witcher: Polaris, which will mark the start of a brand new trilogy. For the moment, we know almost nothing about this game, except that it should highlight a new school, that of the Lynx.
Phantom Liberty is a hit and finances are in the green
CD Project has therefore just revealed its financial results for the third quarter of 2023, marked by the release of Phantom Liberty, the extension of Cyberpunk 2077 adding a whole new district and bringing in Idris Elba in the role of special agent Solomon Reed. Accompanied by update 2.0, the Phantom Liberty expansion would have been purchased by nearly one in five people who had the base game according to Piotr Nielubowicz, financial director of the studio.
This means that the expansion has sold more than 4.3 million units since the end of September, where the base game was purchased by more than 25 million players. Overall, the financial studio recorded a turnover of 102.3 million euros, for an operating profit of 43 million.
This means that things are going well for the studio, which has even already started preparations for Orion, the sequel to Cyberpunk 20. It will be developed in Boston under the direction of Gabe Amatangelo, promoted after his work as director on the Phantom expansion. Liberty. Around fifty developers should form the first core of the team. Remember that last May, 29 developers from The Molasse’s Flood, a CD Projekt subsidiary working on the multiplayer game, were fired.
Source : Neowin
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