Witcher Developer Stays Dedicated to “Innovative Single-Player Experiences”

The video game market continues to grow and evolve, with multiplayer and live-service games being one area of expansion of late. But don’t expect The Witcher and Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt to necessarily follow that path.

As part of the company’s latest earnings briefing, co-CEO Michal Nowakowski said the company understands that “the video game market continues to evolve” with numerous new trends. But CD Projekt is going to stick with “cutting-edge single-player” games it’s best known for.

“Games rooted in strong franchises and immersive narratives will continue to enjoy great popularity,” Nowakowski said, as reported by Bounding Into Comics. “Our experience, along with brands such as The Witcher and Cyberpunk, which it is our pleasure to further develop, help us build a strong position on the market and paint a positive outlook–while collaboration with global tech and innovation leaders enables us to keep abreast of technical developments in the industry and continue to deliver top-quality entertainment.”

Some have criticized the industry-wide push toward more and more battle royale games specifically leading to mass layoffs, studio closures, and other tough times for workers in the space.

Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt recently said it might have been possible to avoid the unfortunate current reality of things “if everybody stopped making battle royale” games and instead made other types of titles.

CD Projekt was working on a Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer spin-off project, but it never materialized. CD Projekt is not the only high-profile game developer that’s sticking with single-player, as Naughty Dog’s upcoming projects, including Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, are single-player titles. Naughty Dog was making a Last of Us multiplayer game, but it was canceled.

CD Projekt has numerous upcoming titles in the works, including The Witcher 4, 5, and 6, along with a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and a remake of the original Witcher. CD Projekt also just recently announced a deal with Pokemon Go company Scopely for a new game.