03 January 2024 , 13:00
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Polish studio CD Projekt Red has reiterated its desire to maintain its independence in the wake of other major developers being purchased.
So prevalent is the purchase of AAA video game developers by console platforms and publishers these days, some are purposely coming out of the woodwork to state their disinterest in being considered. It comes in the wake of 2023 being another high-profile year for studio acquisitions, the most prominent example being Activision Blizzard finally being welcomed into the Xbox first-party family of studios as the Microsoft Activision deal crossed the finish line for approval. Now, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red is making its stance clear.
In a new interview with Polish site Parkiet, outgoing CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kicinski spoke about the studio’s independent future and his opinion on the topic, before he transitions to his new role as chief strategy officer. “We’ve worked all our lives for the position we have now. And we believe that in a few years, we will be even bigger and even stronger…independence is really appealing, it’s a kind of freedom,” he explains. “We are not interested in including us in some larger entity”.
Interestingly, Kicinski doesn’t completely write off working with publishers – Bandai Namco published Cyberpunk 2077 in select European markets, after all – just the idea of an outright acquisition. He went on to say that the studio is “open to ideas that could accelerate the implementation of [its] strategy”, presumably referencing its in-development games such as the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 4.
Just in case you thought CD Projekt Red was big enough to acquire another developer itself, this apparently would also be a non-starter unless it made total sense. “We are not interested in purchases that would only aim to include acquired companies in our group and consolidate their financial results,” Kicinski surmises, stating that the studio sees “no value” in growth purely for growth’s sake.
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Forever independent
With Embracer Group making multiple developer layoffs following its rampant acquisition spree, and the likes of PlayStation even cutting several roles at Bungie just a year after it was purchased, it’s heartening to see a AAA studio like CD Projekt Red hold value in its independence. Because while the apparent safety net introduced by being owned by a major publisher is appealing, the lack of control and freedom that comes with it doesn’t make sense for every developer.
You only need look at Larian Studios’ success with Baldur’s Gate 3 last year. Here was a fantasy RPG with a creative vision expertly executed on. It’s hard to imagine it turning out so well if Larian Studios was owned by, say, EA, who in recent years has done a very poor job at managing its own legendary RPG studio Bioware with fumbles like Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
I’d even go so far as to say that, were CD Projekt Red owned by another publisher, Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption story of going from glitchy mess to celebrated success, might not have been possible. Last year’s Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion totally changed the narrative of that game, wholly because the studio chose to stick with it and make it great as opposed to totally abandoning the project. Either way, at a time where studio acquisitions are seemingly non-stop, don’t expect CD Projekt Red to be one of them.