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CD Projekt Red has announced the future of its flagship franchises, The Witcher and the Cyberpunk franchises, during a recent studio update. including sequels and spin-offs. the biggest announcement is arguably the next Witcher Trilogy, codenamed Project Polaris, which CDPR plans to release over six years. the Franchise is also set to get two new spin-off titles, handled by third-party developers, which will bring new features such as multiplayer to the franchise.
As for the studio's other major franchise, set in a dystopian future, CDPR also announced Orion, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. The studio is also working on a completely original IP called Hader, which isn't coming anytime soon. Let's take a closer look at all of the announcements from CD Projekt Red's studio update announcement.
CD Projekt Red plans to release the next Witcher Trilogy within six years, announces two spin-off titles by third-party studios
The Witcher franchise has become synonymous with CD Projekt Red. Building upon the work of Andrzej Sapkowski, CD Projekt has brought a worldwide appeal to the series with the trilogy featuring Geralt of Rivia. As such, arguably the biggest announcement today was the new Witcher Trilogy.
CD Projekt Red confirmed that they are working on the next mainline game a few months back, and while fans assumed it to be the first of a new trilogy, CDPR officially confirmed that today. Codenamed Project Polaris, CDPR plans to release the trilogy over six years, turning it around in a relatively shorter span than the original's eight years, whilst aiming for a bigger scale.
Aside from the the mainline trilogy, The Witcher franchise has successfully expanded with spinoff titles like Gwent and Thronebreaker, and CDPR hopes to continue that streak as they announce two more spinoff titles handled by third party developers.
Project Sririus, handled by The Molasses Flood will be the next title to debut. The title will differ from past Withcer games and is targeted at a broader audience. The title will also feature multiplayers alongside a single player story-based experience.
The other spinoff title is called Canis Majoris, which will be developed by an external studio experienced with the franchise. Tech wise, CDPR plans to switch completely over to Unreal Engine 5 over the in-house Red Engine, which reportedly affected development previously.
All in all, CDPR has massive plans for the future of Witcher, but that's not all as the studio announced the next Cyberpunk 2077 game and a completely original IP.
The next Cyberpunk game is codenamed Orion that isn't coming anytime soon, with Hader a new IP by CDPR
Cyberpunk 2077 recently had a resurgence due to the popularity of the Edgerunner anime and the game finally being in a playable state. Since its announcement back in 2012, hype surrounding the title kept growing till its eventual release in 2020. However, it was soon discovered that the game was launched in an unfinished, unplayable state. Since then, the game has turned around a new leaf, but what's in store for the future of the franchise?
Cyberpunk 2077 is set to get its first and only major story expansion, with Phantom Liberty set for a 2023 release and leaving the PS4/Xbox One behind. as for the future beyond that, whilst CDPR's immediate focus seems to be on Witcher, the company did announce the sequel to the title. Codenamed Project Orion, the game will take the franchise further and continue harnessing the potential of this dark future universe.
CDPR also announced that they are working on a third major franchise alongside Witcher and Cyberpunk, codenamed Hader, it will be the first completely original IP by the studio. Considering the backlash CDPR faced due to Cyberpunk's troubled development and rushed launch, the studio emphasized on the the fact that fans should not expect these titles anytime soon.
The developers behind the Witcher and the Cyberpunk franchise have had an eventful journey across the last 20 years. From a small Polish indie developer to a massive continent-spanning studio developing multiple AAA titles at once, CD Projekt Red is arguably one of the most well-known video game studios of the modern generation. The future of the two franchises seems quite hopeful at CD Projeckt Red, as the studio overcomes challenges and builds upon the IPs..
