Live action announcement - Has CDPR forgotten why it became successful?

[ShinAkira00]

A lot of these recent announcements feels like CDPR is on it's way to becoming the next Blizzard. I've been a staunch defender second chances since launch so this isn't something I say lightly but the huge, fumbled launch of CP2077 was a red flag. I always believed that's something that could be forgiven if fixed until these recent announcements and of course Edgerunners before it. It's becoming increasingly clear that CDPR isn't focused on game development anymore but instead maximizing the brand for their investors. Now I'm not saying wanting the game to be profitable is a bad thing but we've now moved beyond game development and into greed territory.

Success can be both a good and bad thing. This company that started out as a small polish studio has now essentially stripped away most of the dev team that made these titles and is now either outsourcing or deciding to operate out of the US. There is no doubt that if games like Witcher and CP2077 were initially made in the US that they would not be the games we have today because we know what US based companies tend to prioritize. Profit. So I do firmly believe these new developments represent a shift in direction for the company and not for the better.

There are a number of unnamed projects that CDPR has in development and I am going to put forward the suggestion that at least one of them will be a Live Service Game. I want to be wrong but all the decisions that the current management has made leaves me to believe that this will no longer be the company that delivered the great stories of the past. From abandoning their in house Red Engine, essentially abandoning their entire identity as a company because it's the most "cost effective" choice.

As I said, I hope I'm wrong but time will tell.

 

[Neoyoshi-Art]

It's hard to say where all of this will go, but i do kind of miss the days when CDPR was a small hole-in-the-wall in Warsaw, especially the very early days of Witcher.

I think they'll be fine though if they continue to just lean in to what they are most good at and have the most experiences in, Adaptation and World-building.

 

[pliskards]

Well the last things they have been involved in have been...

• The Witcher 3 - One of the best video games ever made.
• Hearts of Stone - One of the best expansions ever made.
• Blood and Wine - A game so impressive in size/scope some people called it The Witcher 4.
• Thronebreaker - A smaller title I really enjoyed.
• Cyberpunk 2077 - A disaster of a launch that was rushed to market and did massive damage to their reputation.
• Edgerunners - A massive success that was well reviewed.
• Phantom Liberty - Three years and a ton of money to make up for the botched launch of Cyberpunk 2077, an expansion that rivals or surpasses The Witcher 3 expansions in terms of size/scope.

There are some reasons to be concerned about the future of CDPR. But at least in my opinion they are still going strong at the moment. Edgerunners was great and I have no problem with something live action if it is actually good... and it doesn't seem like it will detract from the actual game development.

I think there were some mobile things and GWENT mixed in there too. But I know nothing about those things other than I don't care about them and they don't seem to have any impact on the development of their AAA titles.

They want to make money off of their IPs. Can't blame them.

Post automatically merged: Oct 7, 2023

Oh - and to comment on CDPR not being focused on game development...

They just sunk three years and a massive amount of money into fixing their botched launch. They are opening another studio in a different country so they can develop two major AAA games side-by-side as they realize it is what drives all of these other things. That is the core of their entire strategy as a company. So... I think you are wrong on this one.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Beside, they already announced that their main goal remains making story-driven games (I think it was when they announced switching from Red Engine to Unreal Engine). So I assume "The Witcher 4" and "Cyberpunk 2-Orion" will be just that. So for me, CDPR can do whatever they want beside, as long as they keep creating very good solo story-driven games (even a full MP game, I simply won't play it)

 

[tavellone]

Well I have always said that CDPR is a big corporation and should be essentially treat with the same amount of distrust and skepticism that all big corporations should be treat with, but I don't understand what the live action TV show has do do with this? You mentioned this as the headline but never made any explanation of why this is bad or how it shows that CDPR are only interested in brand expansion. I mean I agree in principle but it was literally announced yesterday and the anime clearly was in my opinion an artistic venture, as much as it can be without being a complete Avant Garde arthouse piece.

It's not like anything else CDPR have made is fundamentally more art and less business than anything else. Every single game has been designed with mainstream appeal in mind, right up to the first Witcher game.

 

[ShinAkira00]

They just sunk three years and a massive amount of money into fixing their botched launch. They are opening another studio in a different country so they can develop two major AAA games side-by-side as they realize it is what drives all of these other things. That is the core of their entire strategy as a company. So... I think you are wrong on this one.

You don't need to move to another country to develop a AAA game, we know this because they have already done it so I'm confused by that suggestion. Ironically the CDPR devs just announced they will be forming a union after the layoffs that took place this year. The move to the US has absolutely nothing to do with development, it's done because labor protections in the US are abysmal and allow them a certain level of freedom that can be seen as questionable.

As for the fixing the game....yes....they fixed the game. Not sure if you're implying that it wasn't to their benefit? They sold something that was broken so they had to fix it if they intended to garner any support for their future games. That's just business and protecting the interests of their shareholders, which again isn't a bad thing but shouldn't be framed as some kind of good deed. It was a problem of their own making.

 

[pliskards]

You don't need to move to another country to develop a AAA game, we know this because they have already done it so I'm confused by that suggestion. Ironically the CDPR devs just announced they will be forming a union after the layoffs that took place this year. The move to the US has absolutely nothing to do with development, it's done because labor protections in the US are abysmal and allow them a certain level of freedom that can be seen as questionable.

As for the fixing the game....yes....they fixed the game. Not sure if you're implying that it wasn't to their benefit? They sold something that was broken so they had to fix it if they intended to garner any support for their future games. That's just business and protecting the interests of their shareholders, which again isn't a bad thing but shouldn't be framed as some kind of good deed. It was a problem of their own making.

The point of your initial post was that CDPR is no longer focused on game development. In this response you are now saying...

• They are creating a studio in the US to develop two AAA games at the same time.
• They spent three years of development fixing a mistake of their own - which I never said wasn't their fault?
• You admit that fixing their games and releasing high quality GAMES is in the best interest of their business and shareholders.

So what was your initial point? Or are you just looking to argue about something and crap on the studio?

If you think it is a bad move for them to open a studio in the US, then just say it. If you think that the original release of Cyberpunk was a disaster - then just say it, I certainly won't disagree nor did I in my response to you.

The launch of Cyberpunk was an obvious disaster. They spent three years fixing it. They now are going to be developing two AAA games at the same time in two different major locations while also starting to develop their own stand alone IP.

Are they going to turn into Ubisoft 2.0? I mean - maybe? I think that is what everyone is kind of afraid of. But they haven't yet and just about everything they have done in the last eight years or so outside of the initial launch of Cyberpunk has been highly successful and high quality.

Post automatically merged: Oct 7, 2023

Beside, they already announced that their main goal remains making story-driven games (I think it was when they announced switching from Red Engine to Unreal Engine). So I assume "The Witcher 4" and "Cyberpunk 2-Orion" will be just that. So for me, CDPR can do whatever they want beside, as long as they keep creating very good solo story-driven games (even a full MP game, I simply won't play it)

Yeah - as far as Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 the only concerns I currently have are...

• Them saying there may be some 'elements of multiplayer' in some of their upcoming games, whatever that means.
• Given some other decisions they have made as a company I fear the focus of their content and subject matter may start to shift in an undesirable direction.
• Will the opening of a US studio cause the talent to be watered down and/or influence the content in games due to... uh... the way US devs think, I guess we will say.

But I'm not concerned that they are worried about making anime and movies instead of games. They aren't stupid enough (at least I don't think they are) to think anything but their major AAA story-driven games are the primary driver of their IPs success.

 

[ShinAkira00]

Well I have always said that CDPR is a big corporation and should be essentially treat with the same amount of distrust and skepticism that all big corporations should be treat with, but I don't understand what the live action TV show has do do with this? You mentioned this as the headline but never made any explanation of why this is bad or how it shows that CDPR are only interested in brand expansion. I mean I agree in principle but it was literally announced yesterday and the anime clearly was in my opinion an artistic venture, as much as it can be without being a complete Avant Garde arthouse piece.

It's not like anything else CDPR have made is fundamentally more art and less business than anything else. Every single game has been designed with mainstream appeal in mind, right up to the first Witcher game.

What would you call releasing a game that is broken, knowing that it would not work on some consoles? That is fundamentally making a decision to prioritize profits above a quality product. We all know this happened. So yes, profit is always and will always be a fundamental part of game development but there has to be a balance.

My argument is that there are signs where that balance is leaning towards a repeat of the launch where profit overrides good game and consumer driven practices. The live action implies that their focus is now split, a live action project has nothing to do with game development so why would a game studio be interested in this? They are trying to be a media company instead of a game studio and all of that is driven by more profit. Hollywood itself is a cesspool of greedy conglomerates, if you've been following the writer and actor strike then you know this. So that is why I am skeptical of anyone eager to jump in those muddy waters without getting dirty themselves. Edgerunners in my mind was the first sign of that, an empty shell of themes explored in the game but saturated with cheap hyper violence and hyper sexuality that they believe they can pump out on the assembly line.

They weren't always a big corporation so I previously gave them some leeway but since taking the company public, you can see the change in management and direction. So now I'm inclined to view them with a healthy dose of skepticism and distrust.

 

[pliskards]

So now I'm inclined to view them with a healthy dose of skepticism and distrust.

So is your point that they aren't focused on game development or that the studio growing larger/going public may cause them to release lower quality products?

The first point - they are obviously still focused on game development. They have announced like 230471087234 things they want to develop.

To the second point - this is a concern with any studio that starts to get super big/goes public and I'm not sure anyone would disagree.

However, I think if anything the release of Cyberpunk 2077 and the disaster of a launch proved that releasing broken games is NOT good for their overall profit or bottom line. Their stock price has since fallen into oblivion and they have clearly (your post is a good example) hurt the overall trust in their products. Hence the example of them spending three years and a ton of money on Phantom Liberty to try to fix their mistake - because they almost completely destroyed a super valuable IP.