In an interview, the team driving the development of The Witcher 4, which was just revealed at The Game Awards, explained how and why they’re avoiding having the game become ‘another Cyberpunk 2077’.
In 2020, CDPR released Cyberpunk 2077, and it was in such a poor state that it became one of the worst-rated and most ridiculed games of all time. It faced legal issues from shareholders, and hundreds of millions of dollars had to be spent to patch it up.
The Witcher 4 is now in full production, and a fresh trailer showcased at The Game Awards shows players what’s to come. CDPR is adamant it won’t stumble twice on the same rock.
‘Let it Cook’
In an interview with IGN, CDPR’s Małgorzata Mitręga and Sebastian Kalemba walked through the cultural shift that has taken place at CDPR to ensure that the same mistakes aren’t repeated with the development of The Witcher 4.
The pair explained that, chiefly, the plan is to ‘let it cook’, which basically means it’ll take as long as it takes to produce it.
Kalemba explained in the interview with IGN:
The way we produce right now also changed in a very good way, meaning that we are very mindfully defining the stages of the production. We are very mindfully trying to scope it, making sure that the foundation is there.
This way makes us feel that we control this super complex environment more than we used to control. And that also makes everyone feel more secure when it comes to developing generally on a daily basis.
CDPR stressed that ‘the transparency of the vision’ is key, but that was also the case when Cyberpunk 2077 was being developed all those years ago. This time around, the effort to maintain that notion is ‘bigger’, though.
It’s no big secret that it’s becoming tougher to develop increasingly ambitious games. That was a topic touched upon by Kalemba:
It’s even more complex now.
Currently we’re in the post-pandemic world. The pandemic changed the development 180 degrees. We are creating such huge products, we have on board over 400 people right now. To manage such a complex environment in such a complex industry, we had to adapt simply, quickly, and efficiently.
The team explained that clear communications, meetable expectations, and a healthy working environment are the keys to unlocking a solid product at launch. There are high hopes for The Witcher 4, which was revealed at The Game Awards with a trailer that showcased Ciri as the game’s main character.
Do you think CDPR will deliver? Let us know in the comments.
For more GPlayr coverage, check out the news that Fallout won Best Adaptation at The Game Awards