Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red obtained’t bear survival games factual on tale of they’re neatly-liked, but Netflix’s Edgerunners anime is fueling dreams bigger than RPGs
By The co-CEOs of CD Projekt, Michał Nowakowski and Adam Badowski, express that they once aspired to create the world’s finest RPGs. While this ambition remains at the heart of the studio, the duo now harbors much grander aspirations following the achievements of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. This ambition extends beyond just games, with Netflix’s Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime appearing as merely a glimpse of their forthcoming plans.
“We once envisioned becoming the leading producer of the finest RPG experiences worldwide,” Nowakowski shares with the Polish publication XYZ (via machine translation). “As time passed, we came to understand that this could only be achieved temporarily following a game’s launch.” He emphasizes that past accomplishments don’t guarantee future successes, and that “persistent effort” is essential to fulfill that vision.
“Currently, our aspirations are even loftier,” he adds. “We aim to evolve into a global creator of pop culture and entertainment – with games positioned at the core, complemented by products and events for our fans. This could encompass a film, a series, animations, literature, and more. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the anime series we developed alongside Japanese studio Trigger and released on Netflix over two years ago, is merely a preview of what we have in store for the future.”
Nonetheless, the ambition to create monumental RPGs hasn’t diminished. “We remain dedicated to crafting games that resonate with us,” Badowski states. “We won’t abandon our path if survival games, for instance, suddenly gain popularity. We have no intention of drastically altering our direction. Our goal was to create the best RPGs in the world when we started with just a handful of employees, and we are determined to pursue that same objective today, with our team of over a thousand.”
Edgerunners alone illustrates how impactful such intellectual property expansion can be, as the anime significantly boosted Cyberpunk 2077’s sales to surpass impressive new benchmarks. “Following the success of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk…”