Topping the Witcher 3 Is a Tall Order, but Cyberpunk 2077 May Just Succeed
It’s been some time since Witcher 3 ended development and won 2015’s Game of the Year. Even less time has passed since Witcher 3’s DLC, Blood and Wine, won best RPG of 2016. Thus, wrapping up all their Witcher-related content (not including the new Gwent TCG), CD Projekt RED is running full-throttle in its development of Cyberpunk 2077. And it is with this game company co-founder Michał Kicińsk believes CDPR can reach mass audiences.
Despite the unexpected success of Witcher 3, sales and its multitude of accolades, Kicińsk believes the developer hasn’t hit it big yet. He elaborated in an interview with Polish website Gazeta, reminding everyone that Geralt of Rivia’s adventure dealt with the fantasy genre; the fantasy genre is still a niche market.
“I think that none of us expected such an unbelievable success of the game and CD Projekt itself,” stated Kicińsk. “We’re talking about a game, that has pretty much won every single award and accolade that you can in this industry.
“If we’re to expect something more, it would be even better sales of the game. My brother Adam (CD Projekt’s CEO) spoke about it at one of the investors conferences. The Witcher 3 was of course a gigantic commercial success, but in terms of sales there’s still a lot of room for growth. CD Projekt’s ambition is to catch up with the largest developers in the world in that area.”
Therefore, CDPR has the capacity to reach a more massive audience with a sci-fi game like Cyberpunk 2077. Kicińsk cites the way pop-culture responds to worlds of science fiction as a good indicator of how the game shall be received:
“I’m confident, that Cyberpunk 2077 can be a much bigger commercial success than “The Witcher 3”. Futuristic world of the Cyberpunk is much closer to what we know from our daily lives. It’s also much more popular, massive as you can tell by its presence in the films, books, comics and games. You have to remember, that fantasy is a much more niche topic.”
Remember, Cyberpunk 2077 is part endeavor and part experiment for CD Projekt Red. The developer received government funding last year in order to improve the performance of their games and to innovate gameplay. These improvements might explain why we haven’t received a release date yet. Kicińsk couldn’t say anything about that either. However, he did confirm that a date would be given close to launch. We may be talking a Fallout 4 type of deal, where the game was showcased just months before release.
We’ll keep you updated on Cyberpunk 2077 and all the latest from CDPR. Simply stick around COGconnected for more news as it comes. Happy gaming.