CD Projekt RED: Reinventing the Wheel Loses Us Staff

Polish developer CD Projekt RED – responsible for modern classic The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – is getting a bad rep. For instance, former staff members took to workplace review sites – such as Glassdoor – to rag on the company. Specifically, former employees attacked the company for its unreasonable crunch – i.e. overtime – hours.

However, CD Projekt RED hit back at criticisms on Twitter earlier today, defending its practices. In particular, the developer cites its desire to ‘reinvent the wheel’ with every new game as stressful for some. It concedes, though, that the approach does not agree with everyone. This defence, the company explains, is an attempt to dampen fears that development on the forthcoming Cyberpunk 2077 is in any way troubled.

CD Projekt RED – Reinventing the Wheel

In a tweet, CD Projekt RED explains that its development practices are “not for everyone,” but is “where the magic happens”:

“This approach to making games is not for everyone. It often requires a conscious effort to “reinvent the wheel” – even if you personally think it already works like a charm. But you know what? We believe reinventing that wheel every friggin’ time is what makes a better game. It’s what creates innovation and makes it possible for us to say we’ve worked really hard on something, and we think it’s worth your hard-earned cash. If you make games with a “close enough is good enough” attitude, you end up in a comfort zone. And you know where the magic happens.”

Cyberpunk 2077 Fears

Regarding Cyberpunk 2077, the company adds:

“Cyberpunk 2077 is progressing as planned, but we are taking our time – in this case, silence is the cost of making a great game.”

Cyberpunk 2077 is expected in 2019.