CD Projekt Co-Founder Compares ‘The Witcher 3’ And ‘Cyberpunk 2077’

CD Projekt co-founder and one of the people behind “The Witcher 3” Michał Kiciński recently opened up to Polish website Gazeta.pl and talked about himself, the games of his company and many others. During the interview, he revealed that he has high hopes for “Cyberpunk 2077.”

When asked about the success of action RPG “The Witcher 3,” Kiciński admitted that they did not expect the impressive reception of the industry to the game. “I think that none of us expected such an unbelievable success of the game and CD Projekt itself. We're talking about a game, that has pretty much won every single award and accolade that you can in this industry,” he said.

However, Kiciński acknowledged that the sales of the game could have been better. “The Witcher 3 was of course a gigantic commercial success, but in terms of sales there's still a lot of room for growth. CD Projekt's ambition is to catch up with the largest developers in the world in that area,” he explained.

Kiciński was then asked if he thinks “Cyberpunk 2077” could possibly realize CD Projekt’s ambition, and this is where the co-founder compared the upcoming game with the 2015 RPG. “I'm confident, that ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ can be a much bigger commercial success than "The Witcher 3,” he said. “I think it's absolutely realistic. "The Witcher" was a fantastic material for a game, but it also constraint us. For startes, we're working with a story set in a fantasy world. Secondary, we're promoting a brand, that was mainly known in Central-Eastern Europe, and not in the West.”

Explaining further why he thinks more players will be drawn into “Cyberpunk 2077,” he stated that its the futuristic world of the new game that is very relatable to gamers at present. Kiciński even pointed out that the fondness of people at present for futuristic things is very evident in films, books, comics and in games.

Kiciński predicted that “Cyberpunk 2077” will not only bag awards, but will also receive huge success in terms of sales. “I believe, that in case of Cyberpunk, CD Projekt can fight not only for prestigious awards and accolades, but also for a huge commercial success,” he said.

Kiciński does not work for CD Projekt anymore, but he still is a major shareholder, owning 11 percent of the company, as per PC Gamer. As one of the people behind “The Witcher 3,” it’s hard to believe that he hasn’t played the game at all. Also, he admitted that he does not miss being part of the games industry or playing games in general. "Generally speaking, I don't miss it. I still like them, but now I have many more interests and activities which are more interesting than playing,” he said.

Read the full translated transcript of the interview here.