CD Projekt Red released a strategy update for the foreseeable future, and the company has "decided to reconsider" its plans for Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer. Apparently, CD Projekt is attempting to be more "agile" with its approach to development, but the information is still vague.
We knew there would be some form of Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer, but we still don't actually know what that would have looked like, but we do know, thanks to a November 2020 earnings call, that it would have been "a standalone product." Now the company is shifting gears.
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Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer -- What's happening?
"Previously we hinted that our next triple-A would be a multiplayer Cyberpunk game, but we have decided to reconsider this plan," CD Projekt joint CEO Adam Kiciński said in the strategy video above. "Given our new, more systematic and agile approach, instead of primarily focusing on one big online experience or game, we are focusing on bringing online into all of our franchises one day. We are building an online technology that can be seamlessly integrated into development of our future games."
We still don't know what that means, but Kiciński said that GOG Galaxy, CD Projekt's digital distribution platform for video games and films, will be important for growing "a global community of gamers." However, Kiciński emphatically stated that the single-player aspect of CD Projekt's games wouldn't be affected.
"CD Projekt Red makes singleplayer, story-driven, triple-A RPGs. That is not changing," he said. "What is changing is our long-term approach to online. By this, we mean ensuring we are properly prepared to implement online elements in our games where they make sense. We don't have to go overboard, or lose our singleplayer DNA. We want to take thoughtful steps to build robust online capabilities."
The same day the strategy update went live, CD Projekt announced that it acquired Digital Scapes, a Canadian studio that works on multiplayer game development. Digital Scapes, officially renamed CD Projekt Red Vancouver, has been working on Cyberpunk 2077 since October 2018. It's unclear what role the studio will play, but we can only guess that it'll be a multiplayer-related one.
Overall, the strategy update goes over a number of subjects, including expanding its Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher franchises through more diverse integration of development teams in order "to enable parallel triple-a game development." CD Projekt also made a point that its marketing campaigns will be much shorter as well, so there isn't a Cyberpunk 2077 situation again.
