CD Projekt RED

CD Projekt RED is a Polish game studio that grew from a local developer into one of the most significant game creators in the world. It was founded as the development arm of the distribution and publishing company CD Projekt, and built its reputation on The Witcher series, loosely based on the books of Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The studio is known for its ambitious approach to storytelling, morally ambiguous player choices, and expansive open worlds, as well as for its willingness to go against established practices of the games business, for example by refusing DRM protection. The pinnacle of its work so far is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, one of the most acclaimed RPGs ever made, which was followed by a bold shift toward the sci-fi world of Cyberpunk 2077. In a relatively short time, CD Projekt RED managed to achieve what many European studios never did — establishing itself on the global market with two completely different, yet equally strong, brands.

History

CD Projekt RED was founded as the development branch of the Polish company CD Projekt, which had previously focused mainly on distributing and localizing foreign games for the Polish market. The studio's first major project was the action RPG The Witcher, built on the literary work of Andrzej Sapkowski, which opened the door for the studio onto the international scene. Its success was cemented by the sequel The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which placed greater emphasis on branching storylines and decisions with long-term consequences. The turning-point title became The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — a sprawling open-world RPG initially released for PC and consoles of that era, and later also for Nintendo Switch. The game received extraordinarily positive reception and pushed CD Projekt RED into the world's top tier of game development. In the meantime, the studio also built its own distribution platform, GOG.com, focused on DRM-free games, and expanded The Witcher universe with the card game Gwent and the story spin-off Thronebreaker. Its next big step was a shift away from fantasy toward the sci-fi genre with Cyberpunk 2077, set in the dystopian Night City. Its 2020 release was accompanied by extensive technical problems, especially on older-generation consoles, which led to significant media pressure and the game's temporary removal from one storefront. The studio subsequently spent a long time fixing and expanding the game, thanks to which its reputation gradually improved considerably. This turnaround is often cited today as an example that even after a troubled launch, a game's — and an entire studio's — reputation can be rebuilt through sustained work and communication with players.

Key People

We deliberately avoid naming specific founders and lead creators of the studio to avoid inaccuracies — but it can be said that CD Projekt RED benefited from the start from its close ties to its parent company CD Projekt, which allowed it to invest long-term in its own ambitious projects even during periods when other European studios struggled to do so. This connection between a development studio and its parent distribution and publishing company is one of the traits that has long set the Polish game scene apart from many other European countries.

Today

CD Projekt RED today ranks among the leading European game studios and continues to develop both of its key brands. After fixing Cyberpunk 2077, including the release of an expansion and versions for newer consoles, the game arrived on Nintendo Switch 2 in the form of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. At the same time, the studio is working on further installments of both series for a new generation of players. The studio publicly presents the lessons learned from the demanding development and launch of Cyberpunk 2077 as something it wants to carry into its internal processes for its next major projects, so that a similarly turbulent start doesn't happen again.