Lead Quest Designer for Cyberpunk 2077 and the Phantom Liberty expansion, Paweł Sasko, stated that CD Projekt RED has no plans to launch its future titles ahead of schedule. He described such a move as something that would be difficult to implement in practice, noting the challenges involved in delivering a polished game when faced with tight release timelines.
In a conversation with PC Gamer, the developer was asked whether CD Projekt RED should consider early access or premature releases to avoid the kind of post-launch backlash seen with Cyberpunk 2077, drawing comparisons with Larian Studios. Sasko responded in the negative, underscoring that not all early access efforts end in success. He pointed out that Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3 represents a rare achievement in early access history, driven by the franchise’s large fan base and the team’s experience with Divinity: Original Sin. He cautioned that simply rushing a game into players’ hands is rarely a reliable path to a smooth launch, emphasising the inherent difficulties of such a strategy rather than endorsing it. (VG Times attribution)
As Sasko explained, Baldur’s Gate 3 benefited from an already committed audience and strong development foundations, which are not easily replicable across other projects. The designer reiterated that attempting to push titles into early access or an early release window demands a level of coordination and quality assurance that is not trivial to achieve. He described the scenario as a delicate balancing act between creative ambition, technical stability, and timing—one that CD Projekt RED would rather navigate through meticulous bug-fixing and thorough testing in the late stages of development, rather than compromising on polish to hit a rough deadline. This approach aligns with the studio’s broader philosophy of delivering a finished product that meets players’ expectations, even if it means delaying release dates to ensure stability, performance, and a refined experience. (VG Times attribution)
The conversation also touched on internal changes at the studio, including recent team shifts among the writers and designers who contributed to Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty. These personnel moves are common in large projects as studios recalibrate creative directions and production workflows. The overarching message, however, remains that CD Projekt RED places a high premium on quality and stability over speed to market, preferring to invest additional development time to address remaining issues rather than risk a problematic launch. (VG Times attribution)
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