CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michał Nowakowski admitted the studio is not “100 percent convinced” it has completed its full redemption arc following the troubled 2020 launch of Cyberpunk 2077 [1]. The 2020 release faced severe technical and design issues, leading to widespread criticism and refund offers. Sony even pulled the game’s PS4 version from sale due to these problems [1, 2, 3, 4].
Nowakowski acknowledged the impact on fan trust, saying, “I'm convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that's a fair thing” [1]. He added, “I do hope we will be able to make it back – if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next” [1].
Since the rocky launch, CD Projekt Red has released multiple patches and the Phantom Liberty expansion in 2023. These efforts greatly improved Cyberpunk 2077’s stability and critical reception. Phantom Liberty earned 95% positive reviews from over 7,000 players a month after its release [1, 2, 3]. The game has sold at least 35 million copies overall [5].
The studio is now developing The Witcher 4 alongside a new Cyberpunk title. While The Witcher 4 has no confirmed release date, late 2027 is speculated as the earliest possible timeframe [1, 4]. To bridge the gap, a new Witcher 3 expansion called Songs of the Past is planned for 2027, potentially providing extra development time [4].
Nowakowski said CD Projekt Red does not intend to release a major game every year. Instead, it aims to make fewer, high-quality titles under a roughly 10-year rolling plan. “We never want to turn into the studio that's going to be launching a big game every year,” he said. “The goal is not to flood the games market with CDPR games. We just want to make really cool games” [1, 2, 5, 6, 3].
The studio retained seasoned leaders after Cyberpunk 2077’s launch struggles. Nowakowski described them as “battle-hardened veterans; leaders who were able to carry a different kind of challenge on their shoulders” [2, 5, 3]. He also called the launch period “heartbreaking,” given the studio’s reputation was “its biggest asset” [2].
CD Projekt Red’s next major release timeline remains unclear, but the 2027 Witcher 3 expansion marks a concrete step in its plan to regain player confidence and deliver its next big game.
