CD Projekt RED Explains How The Witcher 3's Success Led to Cyberpunk 2077's Failure

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, developers at CD Projekt RED have opened up about the darker side of the RPG’s massive success. According to the team, the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was, in part, a consequence of that triumph.

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, co-CEO Michał Nowakowski admitted that The Witcher 3 instilled an excessive level of confidence within the studio. The game had surpassed Dragon Age: Inquisition—considered a major competitor at the time—setting a new standard for RPGs and achieving dizzying success.

He also noted that the success of The Witcher 3 did little to change the studio’s mindset regarding troubled launches. Nowakowski recalled how the team prepared The Witcher 3 for release, believing that any issues could simply be fixed with a day-one patch. The game was essentially stitched together at the last minute—something that players were more forgiving of at the time. But this approach didn’t work with Cyberpunk 2077.

Recently, new details have emerged about the Cyberpunk sequel, including the introduction of a new city. As for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we remembered the cult RPG in one of our articles.