CD Projekt increases The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 team to 560 developers

CD Projekt RED scales up development of The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 — development teams have exceeded 560 people. And this is not the end.

After publishing the report for the first half of the year, CD Projekt will continue to actively expand the team. In July, 444 developers were already working on The Witcher 4, 22 more than in April. Cyberpunk 2 is also gaining momentum: the number of specialists has increased from 96 to 116. In general, over the past three months, CD Projekt has increased its staff by almost 10%, and now the studio employs about 800 developers. This is one of the most dynamic growth periods in recent years.

For comparison, The Witcher 3 once employed about 240 people, and the Cyberpunk 2077 team had about 400 six months before the release. That is, the scale of new projects is significantly larger. And it’s not just the main titles: the teams working on The Witcher spin-off codenamed Sirius, as well as the new IP — action-RPG with melee combat Hadar.

This expansion looks especially noticeable against the backdrop of the decisions made two years ago, when the company laid off about 100 employees, which amounted to 9% of the staff. However, the studio’s big plans force it to hire new specialists.

CD Projekt RED reported that The Witcher 4 is the most advanced of all current projects. Thanks to the continuation of the franchise the Polish studio became one of the most expensive companies in Europe. Cyberpunk 2 currently only in pre-production. Therefore, we should not expect the release of both games in the coming years: The story of Ciri may appear no earlier than 2027, and Cyberpunk 2 — closer to the end of the decade.

At the same time, the company maintains profitability. In the first half of the year, its revenue amounted to $121 million, and its profitability was —35%. Most of this is due to the Cyberpunk franchise: it brought in about 76% of the profit, which is about $93 million. A significant role in this was played by the recent release of Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo Switch 2. There, most copies — about 75% — were sold in physical format.

Source: PC Gamer