CD Projekt bets big on AAA open-world RPGs

Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red, revealed the studio has embraced focusing on its core strength: crafting "AAA open-world RPGs with rich narratives."

During an episode of CD Projekt Red's AnsweRed podcast, Iwiński and joint-CEO Adam Badowski discussed the studio's evolution, acknowledging past diversification attempts while affirming their commitment to open-world RPGs.

"Through experience, we've learned the importance of sharp focus," Iwiński emphasized. "While we're drawn to experimenting with new genres, our greatest successes come from dedicating ourselves fully to what we excel at."

"This realization drove our shift from single-project development to managing multiple titles," Badowski added. "Yet every project aligns with our strategic vision: delivering premium narrative-driven open-world RPG experiences."

"Maintaining discipline during growth proves challenging," Iwiński admitted. "The industry constantly presents exciting possibilities, but spreading ourselves too thin compromises quality."

"Innovation must serve our core vision," Badowski noted. "Great gameplay concepts require careful adaptation to our development philosophy — immediate enthusiasm doesn't always translate to sustainable execution."

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has surpassed 60 million sales across standard and Game of the Year editions, excluding separately sold expansions.

Current CD Projekt Red Game Pipeline

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CD Projekt recently revealed The Witcher 3 will receive another update in late 2025, introducing groundbreaking cross-platform mod support that will extend to consoles for the first time. This tenth-anniversary enhancement will enable unified modding across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms. "We're revolutionizing mod accessibility for The Witcher 3 community," the studio stated.

Regarding The Witcher 4, full production is underway targeting a 2027 release at minimum. The studio's current slate includes Cyberpunk 2, Project Sirius (a Witcher multiplayer title), Project Hadar (new IP), and a Witcher 1 remake.