CD Projekt Wants Cyberpunk 2077 to Undergo a 'Similar Evolution' to The Witcher
CD Projekt Red wants Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, codenamed Orion, to undergo a similar evolution to that of The Witcher franchise.
Speaking to PC Gamer, narrative director Igor Sarzyński compared the growth between 2007's The Witcher and its 2011 sequel, Assassins of Kings, with CD Projekt Red's hopes for its sci-fi role-playing game franchise.
"Consider The Witcher games and how much they changed with each instalment. We want a similar evolution here," Sarzyński said. "Cyberpunk 2077 was our first venture into a futuristic-sci-fi world with a ton of new gameplay mechanics, narrative tone, themes, and art direction.
"Some of the stuff worked almost right out of the box, such as the art, city design, music, interactive scene system, playstyles," he continued. "Other aspects took more time to get right, like character progression, NPC interactivity, and optimization.
"That’s natural; it’s impossible to nail everything on your first try. Now with all the game elements iterated and working well, we’ll focus on connecting them even tighter and creating a coherent, total immersion experience."
Little is known about Orion, though it's to be led by Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion director Gabe Amatangelo. Practically everything else, including if CD Projekt Red will make it first-person or third-person, is still up for debate.
A jump as prominent as the one between The Witcher and The Witcher 2 would certainly be ambitious, of course, as while the original 2007 game was well-received, CD Projekt made a huge leap between it and its 2011 sequel, and even more so to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is generally considered one of the best video games of all time.
Cyberpunk 2077's sequel is still years away, of course, as CD Projekt
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