CD Projekt: "We need to fix the relationship with our players"

gamesindustry.biz:

The story of Cyberpunk 2077 -- the real world story -- was a fairlytale that turned into a nightmare.

CD Projekt was riding high on the success of The Witcher 3, and the anticipation for its next title was at levels few games could dream of. It was the headline act of numerous E3 events, culminating in the iconic 'You're Breathtaking' moment from E3 2019, featuring the game's star Keanu Reeves.

Arriving at the close of the PS4 and Xbox One generation, comparisons were even being made with Grand Theft Auto 5, one of the very biggest and most successful games of all time.

But then it came out. Completed under COVID conditions, the company had openly admitted that it needed crunch to get it done. And when it was released, it simply wasn't ready. The game had numerous performance issues, particularly on PS4 and Xbox One. The media called it shambles and one of the biggest disasters in industry history.

And the worst was to come when PlayStation removed the game from its store. For a developer with the scale and respect of CD Projekt Red, it was a public humiliation.

That was nearly three years ago. Since then, Cyberpunk 2077 is now (I'm told) pretty good. And CD Projekt is back in front of the media to promote the game's big expansion, Phantom Liberty.

During Summer Games Fest last week, I had the chance to speak to someone on the frontline of all that, CD Projekt's VP of PR and communication Michał Platkow-Gilewski. And the first question I could think of asking was simply... are you ok?

"I'm good. Actually... I think I'm great, to be honest," he says.

"We're in a cool moment right now. Yes, the road was bumpy. When everything was awesome and amazing, before the release of Cyberpunk... it was the time of my life,