CD Projekt RED - Climbed to the Top of the RPG Mountain, then slipped

An article about the history of CD Projekt RED written by PC Gamer:

How CD Projekt Red climbed to the top of the RPG mountain, then slipped

From D&D imports to redefining the fantasy RPG entirely.

This article first appeared in PC Gamer magazine issue 366 in February 2022, as part of our 'DNA Tracing' series, where every month we delve into the lineages behind iconic games and studios.

CD Projekt Red is a phenomenon that could only have occurred in Poland--and only, really, in the '90s. It's a time that explains more than the studio's ludicrously anachronistic title. This was not just the golden age of the CD-ROM, but the golden age of piracy too--at least in the former Eastern Bloc. Under communist rule, without legitimate access to Western retailers or any copyright law to speak of, Polish PC gaming culture grew in the street markets, where games were sold for 3 a pop--according to the excellent reporting of Eurogamer's resident Witcher scholar, Robert Purchese.

As the iron curtain lifted, local companies--including a pair of skinny young hopefuls named Marcin Iwi ski and Michał Kicinski--could finally, legally import and sell the biggest games from around the world. But in doing so they would have to compete with the Captain Kidds and Calico Jacks who had thrived in their stead.

For its vanguard release, the nascent CD Projekt picked BioWare's Baldur's Gate. In its favour was the fact that it came on five discs, reducing the ability of pirates to sell it cheaply. And since it was an RPG, it was built around words, which CD Projekt could translate in full--casting renowned local actors in some of the key roles.

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Thanks Zloth!

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Another day another article criticizing CDPR.

My suggestion don't release future games on consoles.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Another day another article criticizing CDPR.

My suggestion don't release future games on consoles.

You mean, not something like this?

We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice.

We'll update you as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding.

Yep as ever since CDPR moved away from being a PC only developer to a multi-platform one they have had nothing but trouble with the console versions. Read the signs.

Also shared that news in my thread already.

Once at the top the only way is down.

I am extremely happy with the game myself, in my top 5 favorite games of all time.

The article is a joke.

I thought maybe the second page is missing.

They go through the CDPR history, and then end without even beginning to explain what supposedly went wrong with Cyberpunk ?

I haven't played Cyberpunk yet, I'm waiting for prices of GPUs to come down a bit more so I can upgrade. Hopefully it will get fully patched by then. All of their main Witcher games were top of their category - 1 was one of the best indie RPGs at the time, 2 was a top AA game, and 3 i one of the best AAA games of all time. I hope they bounce back from the Cyberpunk fiasco, they clearly have the ability make a top-notch game.

Cyberpunk is by far the best game CDPR made in my opinion so I don't agree at all.

Only thing is that it didn't work on consoles which was of course a big Fiasco, but CDPR was always a PC first developer!

Same here. I played Cyberpunk and both Wither 1 / Witcher 3 and I can say that Cyberpunk is their game that I enjoyed the most.

I enjoyed the story/dialogues quests of The Witcher 3 (and 2) the most, but I enjoyed the gameplay of Cyberpunk 2077 more, as I expected I would. If they could combine the two I'd have nearly my perfect game.

I enjoyed Cyberpunk, but it wasn't quite on the the same level as The Witcher trilogy for me. The Witcher games are among my all-time favorites though.

Part of me wishes I hadn't played it at release and instead waited until v1.5

After the Witcher 3, I am replaying, I was expecting way too much from them.

I read they rewrote the story during the development to shoehorn that guy, and do a marketing stunt no one was asking for. Story had to be changed too to put more focus on him.
Served them well, look at us, you see that wall? Full speed.

Yeah, I really like Keanu Reeves but I didn't like the Silverhand plot at all.
That's the main reason CP77 isn't in my top games ever (TW, ME, BG, Pathfinder) but a tier lower.
But it was still a damn good game (on PC).

Originally Posted by connus
They go through the CDPR history, and then end without even beginning to explain what supposedly went wrong with Cyberpunk ?

It's an article about the history of the company. The cyberpunk chapter is still happening.

PC Gamer has been doing a whole series of articles like this in the print magazine. Ubisoft Toronto is in this month's (US) edition. Sometimes they cover companies I don't care about, but it has mostly been really interesting. For instance, I expect only the pretty hard core and/or Polish speaking gamers knew of CDProjekt's connection with Baldur's Gate.

Originally Posted by Zloth
It's an article about the history of the company. The cyberpunk chapter is still happening.

PC Gamer has been doing a whole series of articles like this in the print magazine. Ubisoft Toronto is in this month's (US) edition. Sometimes they cover companies I don't care about, but it has mostly been really interesting. For instance, I expect only the pretty hard core and/or Polish speaking gamers knew of CDProjekt's connection with Baldur's Gate.

Noclip made a very good series of documentaries about CDPR, including their story. If you haven't seen them and if you like the topic, it's definitely worth watching.