Some players lost faith indefinitely, and that's fair.
Few wounds in the gaming world cut as deep as broken promises, and CD Projekt Red knows this better than most. Six years after Cyberpunk 2077's catastrophic launch shattered the trust the studio had spent a decade building, co-CEO Michał Nowakowski speaks with rare candor about a redemption that remains incomplete. The Witcher 4 now stands as the studio's most visible act of contrition — not a guarantee of forgiveness, but an earnest wager that craft and patience can outlast disappointment.
- Cyberpunk 2077 arrived in December 2020 as one of gaming's most anticipated releases and collapsed almost immediately under the weight of game-breaking bugs, crashes, and a console experience so poor that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store.
- The damage was not merely commercial — it was reputational, eroding the goodwill CD Projekt Red had carefully accumulated through The Witcher 3 and leaving a segment of its playerbase permanently alienated.
- Co-CEO Michał Nowakowski has publicly acknowledged that some lost faith is simply gone forever, a rare admission of accountability from a major studio executive.
- Despite selling 35 million copies after years of patches, Cyberpunk 2077's recovery has not translated into a full restoration of the studio's credibility — the scar tissue is still visible.
- CD Projekt Red is now betting on a disciplined ten-year roadmap — anchored by The Witcher 4, Cyberpunk 2, and a Witcher 3 remake — to prove that the lessons of 2020 have genuinely reshaped how it builds games.
Nearly six years after Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous December 2020 launch, CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michał Nowakowski is still reckoning with what it cost the studio. The game arrived broken — riddled with bugs, crashes, and a console experience so degraded that Sony removed it from sale entirely. The reputation CD Projekt Red had built on The Witcher 3 absorbed a blow that, by Nowakowski's own admission, has not yet fully healed.
"I'm convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that's a fair thing," he said recently, acknowledging that the studio has not completed its redemption arc. Cyberpunk 2077 has since been repaired and has sold at least 35 million copies, but the scars persist in how a portion of the playerbase regards the company.
Nowakowski sees The Witcher 4 as the clearest opportunity to rebuild that trust, though he is careful not to overstate it. "I do hope we will be able to make it back — if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next." What the Cyberpunk crisis produced, he argues, was a team of battle-hardened developers capable of carrying a different kind of challenge.
The studio is not moving hastily. CD Projekt Red operates on a rolling ten-year plan with no appetite for annual releases, prioritizing meaning over volume. A Witcher 3 expansion is slated for 2027, Cyberpunk 2 is in pre-production, and a Witcher remake is also underway. The studio is making a long, deliberate wager — that time and quality can accomplish what apologies alone never could.
Nearly six years have passed since CD Projekt Red released Cyberpunk 2077 into a world of anticipation, only to watch the goodwill it had built collapse within days. The studio's co-CEO Michał Nowakowski now speaks openly about what that launch cost them: a loss of faith among players that may never fully return.
When Cyberpunk 2077 arrived in December 2020, it came broken. Game-breaking bugs, visual glitches, and constant crashes greeted players on day one, particularly those on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The futuristic dystopian RPG had been years in the making, surrounded by hype that the studio had carefully cultivated. But within hours, the narrative shifted from triumph to disaster. The company's reputation, built on the strength of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt five years earlier, took a blow that would define the studio for years to come.
Nowakowski doesn't shy away from the damage. "I'm convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that's a fair thing," he said in recent remarks. He acknowledges that CD Projekt Red has not yet completed what he calls a "full redemption arc." The studio has worked steadily to fix Cyberpunk 2077—the game is now in far better condition and has sold at least 35 million copies—but the scars remain visible in how players regard the company.
Yet there is a path forward, at least in Nowakowski's view. The Witcher 4 represents a chance to rebuild trust, though he frames it carefully. "I do hope we will be able to make it back—if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next," he said. The studio has learned from the Cyberpunk 2077 experience. What emerged from that crisis, Nowakowski explains, was a team of "seasoned, battle-hardened veterans; leaders who were able to carry a different kind of challenge on their shoulders."
CD Projekt Red is not rushing forward recklessly. The studio operates on what Nowakowski describes as a rough ten-year rolling plan, with no intention of flooding the market with annual releases. "Our dream is to be making more games, although we never want to turn into the studio that's going to be launching a big game every year," he said. The company is not chasing growth through quantity or by expanding its portfolio of intellectual properties. The goal, simply, is to make games that matter.
In the near term, fans have several projects to anticipate. A Witcher 3 expansion titled Songs of the Past is scheduled for 2027. Cyberpunk 2 entered pre-production last year and is moving forward. A Witcher remake is also in development. None of these projects have firm release dates, but they signal that CD Projekt Red is committed to the long game—literally and figuratively. The studio is betting that time, care, and the quality of its next major releases will do what apologies alone cannot: restore the faith of players who walked away.
Citas Notables
I'm convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that's a fair thing.— Michał Nowakowski, CD Projekt Red co-CEO
We were left with seasoned, battle-hardened veterans; leaders who were able to carry a different kind of challenge on their shoulders.— Michał Nowakowski, on how the studio changed after Cyberpunk 2077's launch
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
When Nowakowski says some players lost faith "indefinitely," does he mean they're simply gone forever, or is there something else in that word choice?
I think he's being honest about the permanence. Some players bought Cyberpunk 2077 at launch, experienced a broken product, and decided they wouldn't trust CD Projekt Red again. That's not something a single good game fixes. But "indefinitely" also leaves room—it doesn't say "never." It's an acknowledgment that trust, once broken, doesn't have a set timeline for repair.
The studio went through something traumatic. How does that change a company?
Nowakowski talks about the people who remained as "battle-hardened veterans." That's not just a metaphor. A launch like that forces you to confront what went wrong—the crunch, the overpromising, the pressure to ship. The people who stayed and fixed it learned something. They're not the same studio that shipped Cyberpunk 2077.
But they're being very cautious about their next moves. Is that fear, or wisdom?
Both, probably. A ten-year plan instead of annual releases, no rush to expand the IP portfolio—that's not the behavior of a studio that's confident it can do anything. It's the behavior of a studio that knows it has to earn back something it lost. They're choosing quality and patience over momentum.
Do you think The Witcher 4 can actually win back the people who left?
Some of them, maybe. But Nowakowski seems to understand that one game won't do it. He says "if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next." He's not betting everything on one release. He's betting on a pattern of behavior over time—on showing, not telling, that the studio has changed.
What's the real test, then?
Execution. A game that launches in good condition, that delivers on what was promised, that respects the player's time and money. For CD Projekt Red right now, that's not a luxury—it's the bare minimum to be taken seriously again.