author: luckie
Cyberpunk 2077 loses key developers
Is Cyberpunk 2077 in trouble? Although that conclusion may be a bit too hasty, it is noteworthy that several key developers left CD Projekt RED last month.
If you are eagerly waiting for Cyberpunk 2077, then you may be interested in today’s news from Poland. There have been some high-rank personnel changes in CD Projekt RED, which we’ve learned about via LinkedIn accounts of some of the studio’s employees. There are two names that are especially noteworthy. Until recently, Mateusz Piaskiewicz had been the Lead Level Designer in CD Projekt RED, but he has changed colors and is now working for the Warsaw-based studio Flying Wild Hog (creators of Shadow Warrior 2) since the beginning of this month. Before CD Projekt RED he used to work for Treyarch on Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
The other name is Derek Patterson (now hired by Techland), whose work in CD Projekt RED has also ended in September 2017, where he was filling the role of Senior Gameplay Producer for Cyberpunk 2077. It was his responsibility to take care of such things as planning, prioritizing and coordinating the work with other producers. Interestingly, he had also collaborated with Rockstar on Grand Theft Auto V and the upcoming Red Dead Redemption II.
- RPG announced in 2012 – the release date is yet to be announced;
- In development by a team of over 300 people;
- several key developers left the studio at the end of September.
Another important employee who walked away from the studio last month was the Project Manager Ovidiu Traian Vasilescu, who has spent the last couple of days as a producer in V11 STUDIO GAME. He is an experienced game designer who had served different roles in Ubisoft for many years.
Last but not least is the longtime CD Projekt RED veteran Michal Stec. For the last several months he has been the Senior Art Producer working on The Witcher 3 expansions and Cyberpunk 2077. He too left the company at the end of September.
Of course CD Projekt is a large studio that hires hundreds of employees (there are over 300 people working on Cyberpunk 2077 alone), so the departure of several of them does not seem to be a huge problem – and it likely isn’t. However, the figures in discussion are more than ordinary employees, plus they all left the company at the same time. So maybe there really was a bigger issue that could not be resolved in the existing team composition. We’ve asked CD Projekt RED about the matter, but we’re yet to hear from them.
Cyberpunk 2077 was announced back in 2012, but we still know very little about the game. And we shouldn’t hope for any more details coming in the near future, as it is known far and wide that this year belongs to Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Perphaps we’ll get to hear more specific inforomation next year.
