adminThe Cyberpunk 2077 launch damaged some players’ confidence in CD Projekt, and joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski says that reaction is understandable. Speaking at DevGAMM Gdańsk, he reflected on the game’s troubled release, the studio’s efforts to recover and its plans for future projects, including The Witcher 4.
Image credit: CD Projekt Red
Cyberpunk 2077 launch left trust to rebuild
In a conversation with RapidEyeMovers creative director Jörg Tittel, Nowakowski described the period around the sci-fi role-playing game’s release as heartbreaking for the company. Although CD Projekt has since worked to address the game’s problems, he said the studio has not necessarily completed its recovery in the eyes of every player.
Nowakowski acknowledged that some people may never regain their confidence in the company, and said that losing their trust was a fair consequence. He hopes CD Projekt can earn back some of that goodwill through The Witcher 4 or later projects, but his comments suggest the studio understands that trust has to be rebuilt through its work.
For players, that means the next releases will be an important test: promises alone may not be enough to change perceptions formed during a difficult launch. The quality and condition of future games will matter to audiences deciding whether to give the studio another chance.
What CD Projekt learned from the recovery
Nowakowski also said the demanding process of fixing Cyberpunk 2077 left the company with experienced staff and leaders better prepared to handle challenging development work. He described the remaining team as seasoned veterans who had carried difficult responsibilities through the game’s recovery.
The game’s commercial performance shows that it has continued to find an audience: Cyberpunk 2077 has sold more than 35 million copies. That figure, however, does not erase the initial reception or the concerns of players who felt let down at release. The sales milestone and the trust issue are separate parts of the game’s story.
Why The Witcher 4 will use Unreal Engine 5
Nowakowski discussed another major change for the studio: its move away from its proprietary Red Engine and toward Unreal Engine 5 for the upcoming The Witcher 4. He said onboarding developers to Red Engine could take six to nine months, a lengthy process the company considered difficult to sustain.
Working with Epic gives CD Projekt access to Unreal Engine’s underlying technology, which Nowakowski said allows the studio to contribute to its development while adapting it to its needs. The goal is to spend less time building and maintaining the engine foundation and more time creating the stories and game systems the studio wants to make.
For players, the engine change is best understood as a development decision, not a guarantee about a game’s final quality. The Cyberpunk 2077 launch has made that distinction especially relevant: the studio will need to demonstrate through finished releases that its technology and production choices support dependable experiences. CD Projekt hopes The Witcher 4 and its future games can help restore the confidence lost after the Cyberpunk 2077 launch.
