CD Projekt Red veterans are launching a new studio and making a dark fantasy RPG

theverge.com:

Veterans of CD Projekt Red (CDPR) are launching a new studio called Rebel Wolves, and they shared the first details about the new venture on Wednesday. Fans of CDPR’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt might be pleased to hear that Rebel Wolves’ first game sounds like it could be a spiritual successor to the hit title.

In an email to The Verge, co-founder Konrad Tomaszkiewicz described it as “a dark fantasy, story-focused open world AAA RPG,” and it’s based on a new franchise from Rebel Wolves co-founder and narrative director Jakub Szamałek, who also worked on The Witcher 3 andCyberpunk 2077. “Overall, the game will have a similar scope to the Blood and Wine expansion for The Witcher 3 but will be far more non-linear,” Tomaszkiewicz said. Rebel Wolves is planning to release it on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S.

Rebel Wolves is one of many recent studios that have recently been founded by longtime industry veterans — Jade Raymond’s Haven and former BioWare GM Casey Hudson’s Humanoid Studios are just two examples. However, Rebel Wolves is still in its early days — Tomaszkiewicz said the studio is targeting a 2025 release date for this first game — and the company said in a press release that it will be hiring to fill roles “in the coming months.” The goal is to “create a medium size studio with a cap of about 80 people,” Tomaszkiewicz said. He’s funding Rebel Wolves “by myself,” and the studio is “searching for business partners on this journey.”

Tomaszkiewicz, who was also Cyberpunk 2077’s head of production and its secondary game director, left CDPR in May, where he was accused of bullying colleagues, Bloomberg reported. CDPR had investigated allegations against Tomaszkiewicz, and in a message viewed by Bloomberg, he said that