Cyberpunk 2 Associate Director on Lessons Learned from 2077: “It Forced us to Grow Up As A Studio”

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Five years after its release, Cyberpunk 2077 feels particularly impactful. This is likely because the game’s depiction of unrestrained capitalism and excessive consumerism resonates strongly with today’s world. It also helps that the game has been significantly improved and expanded through years of updates and support since it first launched.

Players of the original game might recall a strong story that wasn’t quite matched by the gameplay. Now, after a major overhaul and the release of the Phantom Liberty expansion, it’s become the studio’s biggest success, selling over 35 million copies. Getting there wasn’t easy, and involved some tough lessons. What were the most important things the developers learned along the way?

Paweł Sasko, the lead quest designer now working as an associate game director on Project Orion/Cyberpunk 2, shared that a key lesson learned during the development of Cyberpunk 2077 was the need for creative focus. He explained that the game works best when its different elements – gameplay, story, and overall themes – all support each other instead of clashing or contradicting one another.

Sasko thinks the game’s story and gameplay didn’t always align well. For example, after V installs the Relic, they start experiencing visions of Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves), but this process also makes them physically weaker and shortens their life. This feels strange, given that V is simultaneously becoming more capable in other ways.

V is seriously ill, experiencing symptoms like vomiting blood and coughing. Ironically, as they complete tasks in the game, they become more powerful. We used this contrast to emphasize the tragedy and sense of loss – each accomplishment brings V closer to their fate, despite feeling stronger. We think we used this tension effectively, but we could have highlighted it even earlier in the story.

The team realized how important it is to build a solid and adaptable technical base. Many of the recent improvements were only possible because they rebuilt fundamental systems from the ground up, rather than just adding temporary fixes. Sometimes, a complete overhaul is necessary. They also learned that creative ideas must be balanced with what’s technically achievable, and that limitations can actually inspire more clever and effective design choices.

After years of experience, the most important lesson CD Projekt RED learned was the importance of team alignment. According to Sasko, establishing clear roles, improving communication between teams, and setting achievable goals significantly improved their work, and the positive effects were visible in the Phantom Liberty expansion. Despite the initial negative publicity and reports of excessive crunch, the challenging launch of Cyberpunk 2077 ultimately benefited CD Projekt RED in the long run.

Working on Cyberpunk really pushed us to mature as a game development studio. We completely overhauled many of our workflows and developed a strong focus on continuous improvement and refinement.

The next Cyberpunk game, Cyberpunk 2, will be set in a new city described as a distorted version of Chicago. While there’s no confirmed release date yet, CD Projekt RED is gradually expanding its development team, with over 450 developers expected to be working on the sequel by the end of 2027.

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2026-01-16 17:41