Earlier today, the CD Projekt Group unveiled their first major strategy update of 2021, laying out the company’s plans for the next year. In addition to announcing a new studio in Vancouver and a plan to move towards parallel AAA development in 2022, the company also revealed a roadmap for both the Cyberpunk and Witcher franchises.
CD Projekt Red’s 2021 Roadmap Revealed
The 2021 Roadmap Update for Cyberpunk and The Witcher is light on details. However, given that the strategy update was primarily business-oriented, that’s not surprising. Fans can no doubt expect more detailed news later in the year about the specific entries on the map. Whatever the case, the roadmap lists three key elements for both Cyberpunk and The Witcher. In the former case, CD Projekt Red are planning “Patches and Updates,” “Free DLCs,” and the “Next Gen Update”.
None of these three entries are a surprise. Indeed, the upcoming next-gen update for Cyberpunk 2077 has been well-known for months, though the game’s troubled launch has delayed its release. The key takeaway is that the roadmap confirms that Cyberpunk 2077 DLC will be free. While some free DLC was always likely (The Witcher 3 had some free DLC and some paid), there is no mention of paid DLC on the roadmap. It’s unclear if this means that all DLC will be free, or whether planned paid DLC simply isn’t listed.
When it comes to The Witcher 3, fans knew less ahead of time about CD Projekt’s plans. According to the roadmap, Witcher fans can expect a next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at some point this year. Given the game’s enduring success and popularity, that decision makes plenty of sense. GWENT will also be continuing in 2021 with further development. Finally, the roadmap lists The Witcher: Monster Slayer. This project was first announced in mid-2020; Monster Slayer is an augmented reality game for mobile devices in development at Spokko, a studio launched by CD Projekt last year.
Monster Slayer is likely to be the only new game coming from CD Projekt this year. After all, most of the company’s focus will be on post-launch content and updates for Cyberpunk. However, today’s strategy update did reveal that the company has big plans; namely, that it plans to start parallel AAA development (developing two triple-A projects at once) in 2022…