Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel Will Be Genuinely American Thanks to CD Projekt's New Studio
CD Projekt RED's U.S. division is expected to help make the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 an authentically American game, avoiding minor but noticeable flaws in Night City's image.
The sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 will have a more authentic American feel. This is due to the latest Boston branch of the CD Projekt RED studio, which Dan Hernberg (formerly of Amazon Games, and for several months now acting as executive producer) talked about together with Pawel Sasko, the lead quest designer of the first Cyberpunk, during the latest episode of the AnsweRED podcast (via Wcfftech).
Of course, the main reason why the Polish developer decided to establish a branch in the US in 2022 was the desire to make CD Projekt a global studio. Furthermore, many people interested in working at the studio after the success of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 were not willing to move to Poland (or even to Canada; CDPR also has a team in Vancouver).
However, Hernberg and Sasko also drew attention to some nuances that could have escaped the Polish developers. A rather bizarre, but telling example was the case of sewage manholes in Cyberpunk 2077. These, as the players noticed, weren't only too fragile (believe it or not - this topic attracted the attention of many internet users), but also maintained in a European style.
Detail? Basically yes, but even though it doesn't completely break the immersion, as Hernberg reiterated along with many internet users, due to such minor details, it was difficult for American viewers not to notice that the game was being developed by someone who didn't fully grasp the realities of the USA.
Our [American] curbs are different, our color is different on all of our signs. Everything's just slightly different. It doesn't break immersion, but it's just that little thing where you're like, "Well, maybe this wasn't made by people who live here [in the USA] or people who fully understand all of American culture."
That's why a large part of the team responsible for Project Orion moved to CD Projekt RED Boston. This includes Pawel Sasko himself, but also game director Gabe Amatangelo and other key developers (many of whom worked on the Phantom Liberty DLC). Of course, local devs also joined the team's ranks. These are supposed to be people with considerable experience, who have many released games in their portfolio.
Of course, the premiere of the sequel to Cyberpunk is still a distant future. The title is to retain the features of the first installment of the series, but the project is at a "quite early" stage of production.
