CD Projekt on Reviving Cyberpunk 2077, Phantom Liberty's Success, and the Franchise's Future

ign.com:

Cyberpunk 2077's development is now, for the most part, complete, marking the end of an incredible rollercoaster for CD Projekt that saw the studio go from being one of the most beloved developers in the industry to one of the most criticised, before slowly climbing back up to new heights with the release of Phantom Liberty.

At its lowest, CD Projekt was slammed for the launch state of Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles (that was so poor the PlayStation Store removed it from sale) as well as for crunch culture ahead of the game's release, though for the recently released expansion Phantom Liberty, staff say improvements were made. Lay-offs at the developer have also cast doubt over future projects, of which there are many including a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 project.

IGN spoke with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's art director Paweł Mielniczuk about this journey, discussing the lessons CD Projekt learned as a result of Cyberpunk 2077's turbulent launch, why it wanted to rebuild the game instead of just moving on, and what influences will carry forward into future projects like Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, codenamed Orion.

You can read about all that and more in the full interview below.

First off, what was the response to Phantom Liberty's amazing critical reception within CD Projekt? Did the development team expect such a positive response?

Paweł Mielniczuk: The entire team in the studio believed that Phantom Liberty would be something special; however, it can be hard to completely predict what will resonate with players and how the broader audience will emotionally respond to the game. Only when the first reviews and player comments emerge can we finally breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate the success. It’s safe to say that we