A recent interview with CD Projekt CEO Adam Kiciński (via Polish magazine Strefa Inwestorów) has been making the rounds with their fans.
The interview suggested the company was also going to pursue the dreaded “games-as-a-service” model, meaning their games will be loaded with microtransaction schemes like Star Wars Battlefront II.
Naturally, this didn’t sit too well for many people and it quickly begun to spin out of control. Online versions of rioting began, and now CD Projekt has responded to the cherry picking of Kiciński’s response:
“Worry not. When thinking CP2077, think nothing less than The Witcher 3 — huge single player, open world, story-driven RPG,” the company said on Twitter. “No hidden catch, you get what you pay for — no bullshit, just honest gaming like with Wild Hunt. We leave greed to others.”
It’s worth pointing out that the interview with Kiciński was entirely focused on business, so his responses were naturally coming from an investment standpoint. “We want to go even higher, and especially seeing how we’re having a business chat, we’re interested in Cyberpunk being commercially even more significant,” he said.
The main point of contention here is that when asked for more details on the previously confirmed multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077, Kiciński responded with a pretty harmless clarification:
“Online is necessary, or very recommended if you wish to achieve a long-term success. At some point, we have mentioned that there will be a certain online element related to Cyberpunk.” Later in the interview he was asked about their free-to-play card game, Gwent.
He said their Witcher spin-off card game was designed as a service meant to be profit first and foremost, while providing a stable source of income for the studio. He noted the game was being used as an exercise for the company with how “games-as-a-service” work and how these services are implemented into multiplayer games.
Other websites and YouTubers have been using the two previous responses as some kind of indication that Cyberpunk 2077 will become loaded with pay-to-win and microtransaction nonsense.
A release window for Cyberpunk 2077 still isn’t confirmed, however we now know the game is in full development and both its scale and development team have already eclipsed what they utilized in The Witcher 3. Are you exited for Cyberpunk 2077? Sound off in the comments below!
