The head of CD Projekt Red says that the company still employs “about 100” designers from The Witcher 3, and the story director of The Witcher 4 is “the same person as in The Witcher 1”
A lot has happened to CD Projekt Red since the release of The Witcher 3 10 years ago. Following its launch, CDPR became one of the most respected game studios in the world before its reputation was destroyed and then restored by the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 and the excellent Phantom Liberty expansion, respectively. And it has grown significantly since Geralt set off on his climactic adventure in 2015, now employing more than 1,100 people across its studios in Boston and Vancouver, as well as Warsaw.
All of this begs the question: to what extent is CD Projekt the company it once was, and what does that mean for future projects like The Witcher 4? Well, the answer of sorts came from the company’s CEO Michal Nowakowski, who stated on X that “about 100” The Witcher 3 designers are still in the studio.
Nowakowski said this in a quote from a tweet from The Witcher 4 narrative director Philipp Weber, who celebrated the two-year anniversary of The Witcher 3’s new quest on Wednesday.
The Witcher 3 turns 10 in May. About 100 of its developers still work with us on our new projects, including The Witcher IV. Some of them are actually veterans of The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 1, including my esteemed co-CEO @AdamBadowski, who was with… https://t.co/9Sry1S6yh2January 9, 2025
There are several important clarifications here. Nowakowski states that these 100 people are working “with us” on projects “including” The Witcher 4, which could mean that not all of them are working on that game, and some are likely in leadership positions in the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. Moreover, , as MiyaGi noted in the replies, Nowakowski does not specify what percentage of the Witcher 3 team is 100 people.
However, Nowakowski clarified this in a response to MiyaG, stating: “There were over 200 of us in The Witcher 3.” This would mean that slightly less than half of this team will remain at CD Projekt – a good retention rate over the course of a decade. Nowakowski also responded to another question from user Syarofi_ibn_Zamah, who asked: “Are there many old experienced members of the Witcher 4 team? Or are there a lot of recently hired newcomers?” To this, Nowakowski clarified that “the main story director is the same person as in The Witcher 1.” The main holder of the vision is the same person as in The Witcher 1. And I’ve been working here for (sic) 20 years.”
While The Witcher 4 is still a long way off, we’ve known a little more about it since the game’s official reveal at The Game Awards last December. CD Projekt is positioning it as Ciri’s origin story as a Witcher, calling it “a new discovery, a new saga, a new beginning, in fact.” Plus, Gwent is definitely making a comeback, and the game could give players more freedom to create their own Cyberpunk 2077-style builds.