Nowakowski says investors did not force the raw Cyberpunk launch

In an interview with The Game Business Show, Michał Nowakowski rejected the theory that greedy investors forced a raw Cyberpunk 2077 out in December 2020. He calls the decision a mistake, but an internal one. The pandemic, burnout, and the team's wish to finally end an endless cycle mattered more than outside shareholders. Fans who wanted the game sooner added pressure too.

After the failure the studio added checkpoints: bugs, technical debt, overtime. Nowakowski says the procedures will not turn CD Projekt into a bank or cancel the risk without which large story games do not happen.

On budgets the size of The Witcher 4, he repeats that finances are watched, but a blockbuster is not built from savings. He points to Rockstar and his confidence that Grand Theft Auto 6 is also built around quality. To run several projects at once, the studio dropped its own REDengine.

The conversation is in The Game Business Show.