After Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch, CD Projekt made a promise to change how it markets its games, including talking about the games closer to their launch. The company's latest investor calls saw it keeping that promise, as it refused to offer dates for the next-gen versions of Cyberpunk and The Witcher 3 – and wouldn't even guarantee that they won't be pushed into 2022 if necessary.
Both Cyberpunk and Witcher 3 are due to receive new console upgrades during late 2021, something CD Projekt reconfirmed during its latest financial reports. During an H1 2021 Earnings live stream, an investor asked the company to be more specific about when those next-gen upgrades would arrive, or if they could feasibly be delayed into next year.
SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski refused to be drawn on the questions, making clear that it was part of CD Projekt's new philosophy: "Our target is to release the next-gen version of [Cyberpunk 2077] late this year [...] At the same time, keeping in mind the lessons we have learned during the past year, and taking into account the fact that this project still remains in deveopment, we can't say with full certainty that the production schedule will not change, of course.
"And with The Witcher 3, the situation is slightly different in a way that this is being tackled by the external team mainly, which is Saber Interactive, the company we have worked [with] before on Switch and also the updates in the past. As with Cyberpunk 2077, our goal is to release that game still in late 2021. However, similarly, [the] development process is ongoing, and we cannot be absolutely certain that the release schedule will not change. But for the time being, we definitely are aiming with both titles for late 2021 and I don't want to be more specific at this moment in time."
CD Projekt is clearly being very careful about messaging when those new versions of games will arrive but, at least in the case of Cyberpunk, the company is working towards a specific 2021 date, not simply making the new version without a deadline. In a separate webcast, CEO Adam Kiciński explained:
"Following our promise to start communication closer to actual releases, we don’t want to say anything more about the next-gen edition [of Cyberpunk 2077] other than that it is planned for the second half of the year. Of course, we have a specific date in mind internally, but it’s too early to say anything about this."
After a botched launch that continues to cost CD Projekt a lot of money, the company has repeatedly said it's learned huge lessons about how to approach launching games, With the company now gearing up to work on Cyberpunk and The Witcher simultaneously, we do at least have tentative signs that those lessons are being learned – hopefully leading to games that arrive on the dates promised, and to a sufficient level of quality.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.