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'''CD Projekt''' ({{IPA-pl|ˌsiːˈdi ˈprɔjɛkt̪}}) is a [[Poland|Polish]] [[video game developer]], [[video game publisher|publisher]] and distributor based in [[Warsaw]], which was founded in 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński. Iwiński and Kiciński were video-game retailers before they founded the company. CD Projekt is best known for their ''[[The Witcher]]'' series of video games and their digital-distribution service, [[GOG.com]].
'''CD Projekt''' ({{IPA-pl|ˌsiːˈdi ˈprɔjɛkt̪}}) is a [[Poland|Polish]] [[video game developer]], [[video game publisher|publisher]] and distributor based in [[Warsaw]], which was founded in 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński. Iwiński and Kiciński were video-game retailers before they founded the company. CD Projekt is best known for their ''[[The Witcher]]'' series of video games and their digital-distribution service, [[GOG.com]].


The company began translating major Western video-game releases into Polish, collaborating with [[Interplay Entertainment]] for two ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' games. When Interplay experienced financial difficulties, a CD Projekt project (the PC version of ''[[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]'') was cancelled and company decided to use its code for their own video game. It became ''[[The Witcher (video game)|The Witcher]]'', a video game based on the works of [[Andrzej Sapkowski]].
The company began translating major Western video-game releases into Polish, collaborating with [[Interplay Entertainment]] for two ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' games. CD Projekt was working on the PC version of ''[[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]'' when Interplay experienced financial difficulties. The game was cancelled and company decided to use its code for their own video game. It became ''[[The Witcher (video game)|The Witcher]]'', a video game based on the works of [[Andrzej Sapkowski]].


After the release of ''The Witcher'', CD Projekt worked on ''The Witcher: White Wolf''; this descended into [[development hell]], bringing the company to the brink of [[bankruptcy]]. CD Projekt later released ''[[The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings]]'' and ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'', their first [[open world]] video games, which received positive critical reviews. The company's upcoming project is ''[[Cyberpunk 2077]]'', an open-world role-playing game based on the [[Cyberpunk 2020]] [[Tabletop game|tabletop system]].
After the release of ''The Witcher'', CD Projekt worked on a console port called ''The Witcher: White Wolf''; but [[development hell|development issues]] and increasing costs almost led the company to the brink of [[bankruptcy]]. CD Projekt later released ''[[The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings]]'' and ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'', their first [[open world]] video games, which received positive critical reviews. The company's upcoming project is ''[[Cyberpunk 2077]]'', an open-world role-playing game based on the [[Cyberpunk 2020]] [[Tabletop game|tabletop system]].


CD Projekt is also a distributor. GOG.com, established to help players find old games, expanded to cover new [[AAA (video game industry)|AAA]] and independent games. The company opposes [[Digital rights management#DRM and computer games|digital rights management]] in video games, and hopes that free [[downloadable content]] becomes an industry standard. CD Projekt considers maintaining their independence one of their most important strategies. The company currently focuses on the international market, particularly Europe and North America, and spun off its Polish business [[cdp.pl]] in 2014.<ref name="Spun off"/>
A video game distribution service, [[GOG.com]] was established by CD Projekt to help players find old games. Its mission is to offer [[DRM]]-free games for players and its service was expanded to cover new [[AAA (video game industry)|AAA]] and independent games. The company opposes [[Digital rights management#DRM and computer games|digital rights management]] in video games, and hopes that free [[downloadable content]] becomes an industry standard. CD Projekt considers maintaining their independence one of their most important strategies. The company currently focuses on the international market, particularly Europe and North America, and spun off its Polish business [[cdp.pl]] in 2014.<ref name="Spun off"/>


==History==
==History==
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When CD Projekt was founded, their biggest challenge was overcoming video game [[Copyright infringement|piracy]]. The company was one of the first in Poland to [[Internationalization and localization|localize]] games; according to Iwiński, most of their products were sold to "mom-and-pop shops". CD Projekt began partial localization for developers such as Seven Stars and Leryx-LongSoft in 1996, and full-scale localization a year later.<ref name="book">{{cite book|title=Video Games Around the World|page=416|author=Mark J. P. Wolf|ISBN=0262527162|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|date=15 May 2015|accessdate=20 October 2015}}</ref> To sell their games, they approached [[BioWare]] and [[Interplay Entertainment]] for the Polish localization of ''[[Baldur's Gate]]''. They expected the title to become popular in Poland, and no retailer would be able to translate the text from English version to Polish. To increase the title's popularity in Poland, CD Projekt added items to the game's packaging and hired well-known Polish actors to voice its characters. Their first attempt was successful, with 18,000 units shipped on the game's release day (higher than the average shipments of other games at the time).<ref name="PolyDev"/><ref name="EuroGDev"/>
When CD Projekt was founded, their biggest challenge was overcoming video game [[Copyright infringement|piracy]]. The company was one of the first in Poland to [[Internationalization and localization|localize]] games; according to Iwiński, most of their products were sold to "mom-and-pop shops". CD Projekt began partial localization for developers such as Seven Stars and Leryx-LongSoft in 1996, and full-scale localization a year later.<ref name="book">{{cite book|title=Video Games Around the World|page=416|author=Mark J. P. Wolf|ISBN=0262527162|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|date=15 May 2015|accessdate=20 October 2015}}</ref> To sell their games, they approached [[BioWare]] and [[Interplay Entertainment]] for the Polish localization of ''[[Baldur's Gate]]''. They expected the title to become popular in Poland, and no retailer would be able to translate the text from English version to Polish. To increase the title's popularity in Poland, CD Projekt added items to the game's packaging and hired well-known Polish actors to voice its characters. Their first attempt was successful, with 18,000 units shipped on the game's release day (higher than the average shipments of other games at the time).<ref name="PolyDev"/><ref name="EuroGDev"/>


The company continued to work with Interplay after the release of ''Baldur's Gate'', collaborating on a PC [[Porting|port]] for the sequel ''[[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]''. To develop the port, CD Projekt hired Sebastian Zieliński (who had developed ''[[Mortyr 2093-1944]]'') and Adam Badowski, who became head of the company's game-development division CD Projekt RED. Six months after development began, Interplay experienced financial problems and cancelled the PC version. With the game cancelled and its code owned by CD Projekt, the company planned to use the code to develop their first original game.<ref name="PolyDev"/><ref name="EuroGDev"/> CD Projekt continued to localize other games, and received Business Gazelle awards in 2003 and 2004.<ref name="cdp">{{cite web|url=http://www.gry-online.pl/polski-wydawca.asp?ID=288|title=CDP.pl / CD Projekt|work=Gry-Online|accessdate=21 October 2010}}</ref>
The company continued to work with Interplay after the release of ''Baldur's Gate'', collaborating on a PC [[Porting|port]] for the sequel ''[[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]''. To develop the port, CD Projekt hired Sebastian Zieliński (who had developed ''[[Mortyr 2093-1944]]'') and Adam Badowski, who became head of the company's game-development division CD Projekt RED. Six months after development began, Interplay experienced financial problems and cancelled the PC version. CD Projekt continued to localize other games after ''Dark Alliance'''s cancellation, and received Business Gazelle awards in 2003 and 2004.<ref name="cdp">{{cite web|url=http://www.gry-online.pl/polski-wydawca.asp?ID=288|title=CDP.pl / CD Projekt|work=Gry-Online|accessdate=21 October 2010}}</ref>


==={{anchor|Games development}}Game development===
==={{anchor|Games development}}Game development===
Enthusiasm for game distribution ebbed, and CD Projekt's founders wondered if the company should continue as a distributor or a game developer. With ''Dark Alliance''{{'s}} codes, they decided to develop a game series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's ''[[Wiedźmin]]'' books (which were popular in Poland) and the author accepted the company's development proposal. The franchise rights had been sold to a Polish [[mobile game]] studio, but the studio had not worked on anything related to the franchise and CD Projekt acquired the rights to the ''Wiedźmin'' franchise. According to Iwiński, he and Kiciński had no idea how to develop a video game at that time.<ref name="EuroGDev"/>
Enthusiasm for game distribution ebbed, and CD Projekt's founders wondered if the company should continue as a distributor or a game developer after ''Dark Alliance'''s cancellation. With the game cancelled and its code owned by CD Projekt, the company planned to use them to develop their first original game.<ref name="PolyDev"/><ref name="EuroGDev"/> They intended to develop a game series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's ''[[Wiedźmin]]'' books (which were popular in Poland) and the author accepted the company's development proposal. The franchise rights had been sold to a Polish [[mobile game]] studio, but the studio had not worked on anything related to the franchise and CD Projekt acquired the rights to the ''Wiedźmin'' franchise. According to Iwiński, he and Kiciński had no idea how to develop a video game at that time.<ref name="EuroGDev"/>


{{quotebox|quote=After two weeks of meetings we get two emails saying, in a very nice British way, "It's not so good". So pretty much: "Boys, go home". We were shattered. We were like, "Oh my god we suck".|source= — CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński, on publisher rejection of the ''Witcher'' demo<ref name="EuroGDev"/>|width=31%}}
{{quotebox|quote=After two weeks of meetings we get two emails saying, in a very nice British way, "It's not so good". So pretty much: "Boys, go home". We were shattered. We were like, "Oh my god we suck".|source= — CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński, on publisher rejection of the ''Witcher'' demo<ref name="EuroGDev"/>|width=31%}}
The game brought ''Wiedźmin'' to an international audience, and the company came up with an English name: ''[[The Witcher (video game)|The Witcher]]''. To develop the game, the company formed a video-game development studio (CD Projekt RED, headed by Sebastian Zieliński) in [[Łódź]] in 2002. The studio made a demonstration game, which Adam Badowski called "a piece of crap" in retrospect. The demo was a role-playing game with a [[top-down perspective]], similar to ''Dark Alliance'' and ''[[Diablo (series)|Diablo]]'', and used the [[game engine]] which powered ''Mortyr''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/the-witcher-was-almost-a-diablo-clone-1706288641|title=The Witcher Was Almost A Diablo Clone|first=Patrick|last=Klepek|work=[[Kotaku]]|date=22 May 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> Iwiński and Kiciński pitched the demo to a number of publishers, without success. The Łódź office closed and the staff, except for Zieliński, moved to the Warsaw headquarters.<ref name="EuroGDev"/>
To develop the game, the company formed a video-game development studio (CD Projekt RED, headed by Sebastian Zieliński) in [[Łódź]] in 2002. The studio made a demonstration game, which Adam Badowski called "a piece of crap" in retrospect. The demo was a role-playing game with a [[top-down perspective]], similar to ''Dark Alliance'' and ''[[Diablo (series)|Diablo]]'', and used the [[game engine]] which powered ''Mortyr''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/the-witcher-was-almost-a-diablo-clone-1706288641|title=The Witcher Was Almost A Diablo Clone|first=Patrick|last=Klepek|work=[[Kotaku]]|date=22 May 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> Iwiński and Kiciński pitched the demo to a number of publishers, without success. The Łódź office closed and the staff, except for Zieliński, moved to the Warsaw headquarters.<ref name="EuroGDev"/>

Zieliński left the company, and Kiciński headed the project. Although the game's development continued, the demo was abandoned. According to CD Projekt, the development team had different ideas for the game and lacked overall direction; as a result, it was returned to the drawing board in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/26/the-witcher-was-nearly-a-diablo-inspired-top-down-arpg|title=The Witcher Was Nearly A Diablo Inspired Top-down ARPG|first=Vikki|last=Blake|work=[[IGN]]|date=26 May 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/the-witcher-originally-developed-as-a-pointandclick-rpg-32945|title=The Witcher Originally Developed as a Point-and-Click RPG|first=Anthony|last=LaBella|work=[[Game Revolution]]|date=22 May 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The team, unfamiliar with video-game development, spent nearly two years organising production.<ref name="Dev"/> They received assistance from [[BioWare]], who helped promote the game at the [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo]] by offering CD Projekt space in their booth next to ''[[Jade Empire]]''. BioWare also licensed their [[BioWare#Aurora Engine|Aurora]] game engine to the company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamezone.com/originals/the_witcher_2_vs_dragon_age_2|title=The Witcher 2 vs. Dragon Age II|first=Stefanie|last=Fogel|work=[[GameZone]]|date=27 September 2011|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
Zieliński left the company, and Kiciński headed the project. Although the game's development continued, the demo was abandoned. According to CD Projekt, the development team had different ideas for the game and lacked overall direction; as a result, it was returned to the drawing board in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/26/the-witcher-was-nearly-a-diablo-inspired-top-down-arpg|title=The Witcher Was Nearly A Diablo Inspired Top-down ARPG|first=Vikki|last=Blake|work=[[IGN]]|date=26 May 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/the-witcher-originally-developed-as-a-pointandclick-rpg-32945|title=The Witcher Originally Developed as a Point-and-Click RPG|first=Anthony|last=LaBella|work=[[Game Revolution]]|date=22 May 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The team, unfamiliar with video-game development, spent nearly two years organising production.<ref name="Dev"/> They received assistance from [[BioWare]], who helped promote the game at the [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo]] by offering CD Projekt space in their booth next to ''[[Jade Empire]]''. BioWare also licensed their [[BioWare#Aurora Engine|Aurora]] game engine to the company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamezone.com/originals/the_witcher_2_vs_dragon_age_2|title=The Witcher 2 vs. Dragon Age II|first=Stefanie|last=Fogel|work=[[GameZone]]|date=27 September 2011|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>


The game's budget exceeded expectations. The original 15-person development team expanded to about 100, at a cost of 20 million [[Polish złoty|złoty]]. According to Iwiński, content was removed from the game for budgetary reasons but the characters' personalities were retained; however, there was difficulty in translating the game's Polish text into English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/03/26/interview-cd-projekt-on-the-witcher/|title=RPS Interview: CD Projekt on The Witcher|first=Alec|last=Meer|work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]|date=26 March 2008|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] agreed to publish the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/05/atari-to-publish-the-witcher/|title=Atari to publish The Witcher|first=James|last=Ransom-Wiley |date=5 February 2007|accessdate=21 October 2015|work=[[Joystiq]]}}</ref> After five years of development,<ref name="Dev"/> ''The Witcher'' was released in 2007 to generally positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-witcher|title=The Witcher for PC reviews|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
The game's budget exceeded expectations. The original 15-person development team expanded to about 100, at a cost of 20 million [[Polish złoty|złoty]]. According to Iwiński, content was removed from the game for budgetary reasons but the characters' personalities were retained; however, there was difficulty in translating the game's Polish text into English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/03/26/interview-cd-projekt-on-the-witcher/|title=RPS Interview: CD Projekt on The Witcher|first=Alec|last=Meer|work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]|date=26 March 2008|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] agreed to publish the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/05/atari-to-publish-the-witcher/|title=Atari to publish The Witcher|first=James|last=Ransom-Wiley |date=5 February 2007|accessdate=21 October 2015|work=[[Joystiq]]}}</ref> After five years of development,<ref name="Dev"/> The game would bring ''Wiedźmin'' to an international audience, and so the company came up with an English name: ''[[The Witcher (video game)|The Witcher]]''. ''The Witcher'' was released in 2007 to generally positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-witcher|title=The Witcher for PC reviews|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>


Sales were satisfactory, and the development of sequels began almost immediately after ''The Witcher''{{'s}} release. The team experimented with consoles, a new engine for ''The Witcher 3'' and design work for ''[[The Witcher 2]]'' (again powered by the Aurora Engine). This development halted when the team began work on ''[[The Witcher: White Wolf]]'', a console version of ''[[The Witcher]]''. Although they collaborated with French studio Widescreen Games for the console port, it entered development limbo. Widescreen demanded more manpower, money and time to develop the title, complaining that they were not being paid;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/financial-dispute-puts-the-witcher-games-on-hold|title=Financial dispute puts The Witcher games on hold|first=Matt|last=Martin|work=Gameindustry.biz|date=29 April 2009|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> according to Iwiński, CD Projekt paid them more than their own staff members. The team cancelled the project, suspending its development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-2-almost-didnt-happen/|title=The Witcher 2 almost didn't happen|first=Perry|last=Vandell |date=9 November 2013|accessdate=21 October 2015|work=[[PC Gamer]]}}</ref> Unhappy with the decision, Atari demanded that CD Projekt repay them for funding the console port development and Iwiński agreed that Atari would be the North American publisher of the sequel of ''[[The Witcher 2]]''.<ref name="EuroGDev"/> CD Projekt acquired [[Metropolis Software]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/18/metropolis-joins-cd-projekt-group|title=Metropolis Joins CD Projekt Group|work=[[IGN]]|date=18 February 2009|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
Sales were satisfactory, and the development of sequels began almost immediately after ''The Witcher''{{'s}} release. The team began the design work for ''[[The Witcher 2]]'' (again powered by the Aurora Engine), and experimented with consoles and developed a new engine for ''The Witcher 3''. Their development were halted when the team began work on ''[[The Witcher: White Wolf]]'', a console version of ''[[The Witcher]]''.<ref name="EuroGDev"/> Although they collaborated with French studio Widescreen Games for the console port, it entered development limbo. Widescreen demanded more manpower, money and time to develop the title, complaining that they were not being paid;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/financial-dispute-puts-the-witcher-games-on-hold|title=Financial dispute puts The Witcher games on hold|first=Matt|last=Martin|work=Gameindustry.biz|date=29 April 2009|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> according to Iwiński, CD Projekt paid them more than their own staff members. The team cancelled the project, suspending its development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-2-almost-didnt-happen/|title=The Witcher 2 almost didn't happen|first=Perry|last=Vandell |date=9 November 2013|accessdate=21 October 2015|work=[[PC Gamer]]}}</ref> Unhappy with the decision, Atari demanded that CD Projekt repay them for funding the console port development and Iwiński agreed that Atari would be the North American publisher of the sequel of ''[[The Witcher 2]]''.<ref name="EuroGDev"/> CD Projekt acquired [[Metropolis Software]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/18/metropolis-joins-cd-projekt-group|title=Metropolis Joins CD Projekt Group|work=[[IGN]]|date=18 February 2009|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>


The dispute over ''White Wolf'' was costly; the company faced [[bankruptcy]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.destructoid.com/cd-projekt-almost-failed-before-the-witcher-2-265199.phtml|title=CD Projekt almost failed before The Witcher 2|first=Joshua|last=Derocher|date=11 August 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015|work=[[Destructoid]]}}</ref> with the [[financial crisis of 2007–08]] a contributing factor. To stay afloat, the team decided to focus on ''[[The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings|The Witcher 2]]'' with the ''Witcher 3'' engine. The engine was unfinished, which prevented experimentation and prototyping. When the engine (known as [[REDengine]]) was finished, the game could be ported to other consoles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-the-making-of-the-witcher-2|title=The Making of The Witcher 2|first=Richard|last=Leadbetter|work=[[Eurogamer]]|date=18 May 2012|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> To develop ''The Witcher 2'', the company suspended development of Metropolis' [[first-person shooter]] ''[[They (video game)|They]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vg247.com/2010/01/28/cd-projekt-puts-fps-they-on-hold-to-work-on-witcher-2/|title=CD Projekt puts FPS "They" on hold to work on Witcher 2|first=Stephany|last= Nunneley|work=[[VG 247]]|date=28 January 2012|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> After three-and-a-half years of development, ''The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'' was released in 2011 to critical praise<ref name="EuroGDev"/> and sales of more than 1.7 million copies.<ref name="LookingAhead">{{cite web|url=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/we-re-ready-to-move-on-cd-projekt-red-on-the-witcher-hearts-of-stone-and-cyberpunk-2077/0157411|title='We're ready to move on': CD Projekt Red on The Witcher, Hearts of Stone and Cyberpunk 2077|first=Matthew|last=Davis|work=[[Market for Home Computing and Video Games]]|date=15 October 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
The dispute over ''White Wolf'' was costly; the company faced [[bankruptcy]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.destructoid.com/cd-projekt-almost-failed-before-the-witcher-2-265199.phtml|title=CD Projekt almost failed before The Witcher 2|first=Joshua|last=Derocher|date=11 August 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015|work=[[Destructoid]]}}</ref> with the [[financial crisis of 2007–08]] a contributing factor.<ref name="EuroGDev"/> To stay afloat, the team decided to focus on ''[[The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings|The Witcher 2]]'' with the ''Witcher 3'' engine. When the engine (known as [[REDengine]]) was finished, the game could be ported to other consoles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-the-making-of-the-witcher-2|title=The Making of The Witcher 2|first=Richard|last=Leadbetter|work=[[Eurogamer]]|date=18 May 2012|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> To develop ''The Witcher 2'', the company suspended development of Metropolis' [[first-person shooter]] ''[[They (video game)|They]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vg247.com/2010/01/28/cd-projekt-puts-fps-they-on-hold-to-work-on-witcher-2/|title=CD Projekt puts FPS "They" on hold to work on Witcher 2|first=Stephany|last= Nunneley|work=[[VG 247]]|date=28 January 2012|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> After three-and-a-half years of development, ''The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'' was released in 2011 to critical praise<ref name="EuroGDev"/> and sales of more than 1.7 million copies.<ref name="LookingAhead">{{cite web|url=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/we-re-ready-to-move-on-cd-projekt-red-on-the-witcher-hearts-of-stone-and-cyberpunk-2077/0157411|title='We're ready to move on': CD Projekt Red on The Witcher, Hearts of Stone and Cyberpunk 2077|first=Matthew|last=Davis|work=[[Market for Home Computing and Video Games]]|date=15 October 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>


After ''The Witcher 2'' CD Projekt wanted to develop an open-world game of a quality similar to their other games, and the company wanted to add features to avoid criticism that it was ''Witcher 2.5''. They wanted to push the game's graphics boundaries, releasing it only for the PC and [[History of video game consoles (eighth generation)|eighth-generation consoles]]. This triggered debate on the team, some of whom wanted to release the game for older consoles to maximise profit.<ref name="EuroGDev"/> ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'' took three-and-a-half years to develop<ref name="Dev"/> and cost over $81 million.<ref name="EuroGDev"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-is-how-much-the-witcher-3-cost-to-make/1100-6430409/|title=This is How Much The Witcher 3 Cost to Make|first=Eddie|last=Makuch|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=9 September 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> After multiple delays, it was released in May 2015 to critical praise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-witcher-3-delayed-again/1100-6424075/|title=The Witcher 3 Delayed Again|first=Rob|last=Crossley|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=8 December 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> ''Wild Hunt'' was commercially successful, selling six&nbsp;million copies in its first six weeks and giving the studio a profit of 236&nbsp;million złoty ($62.5 million) in the first half of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kerr|first1=Chris|title=Video: CD Projekt's budget breakdown of The Witcher 3|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/253228/CD_Projekt_Red_reveals_how_much_it_spent_on_The_Witcher_3.php|website=[[Gamasutra]]|publisher=[[UBM plc]]|accessdate=14 October 2015|date=9 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="eurcost">{{cite web|title = The Witcher 3 sells 6m copies in six weeks | date = 26 August 2015| work=[[Eurogamer]]| url = http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-26-the-witcher-3-sells-6m-copies-in-six-weeks| first = Robert| last = Purchese |accessdate=27 August 2015}}</ref> The team released 15 [[downloadable content|content downloads]] and the first expansion, ''Hearts of Stone'' for ''The Witcher 3''.<ref name="EXPANSION">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/07/2-massive-expansions-announced-for-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt|title=2 Massive Expansion Announced For The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt|first=Daniel|last=Krupa|work=[[IGN]]|date=7 April 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> CD Projekt released two other ''The Witcher'' games: ''The Witcher Adventure'' (a board game for PC, [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/5/5783294/witcher-adventure-game-mac-pc-android-ios-beta|title=The Witcher Adventure Game headed to Mac, PC, Android and iOS|first=Dave|last=Tach|work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|date=5 June 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> and ''The Witcher: Battle Arena'', a [[multiplayer online battle arena]] game for iOS and Android.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/20/the-witcher-battle-arena-release-date-announced|title=The Witcher Battle Arena Release Date Announced|first=Michael|last=Martin|work=[[IGN]]|date=19 January 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
After ''The Witcher 2'' CD Projekt wanted to develop an open-world game of a quality similar to their other games, and the company wanted to add features to avoid criticism that it was ''Witcher 2.5''. They wanted to push the game's graphics boundaries, releasing it only for the PC and [[History of video game consoles (eighth generation)|eighth-generation consoles]]. This triggered debate on the team, some of whom wanted to release the game for older consoles to maximise profit.<ref name="EuroGDev"/> ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'' took three-and-a-half years to develop<ref name="Dev"/> and cost over $81 million.<ref name="EuroGDev"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-is-how-much-the-witcher-3-cost-to-make/1100-6430409/|title=This is How Much The Witcher 3 Cost to Make|first=Eddie|last=Makuch|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=9 September 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> After multiple delays, it was released in May 2015 to critical praise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-witcher-3-delayed-again/1100-6424075/|title=The Witcher 3 Delayed Again|first=Rob|last=Crossley|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=8 December 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> ''Wild Hunt'' was commercially successful, selling six&nbsp;million copies in its first six weeks and giving the studio a profit of 236&nbsp;million złoty ($62.5 million) in the first half of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kerr|first1=Chris|title=Video: CD Projekt's budget breakdown of The Witcher 3|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/253228/CD_Projekt_Red_reveals_how_much_it_spent_on_The_Witcher_3.php|website=[[Gamasutra]]|publisher=[[UBM plc]]|accessdate=14 October 2015|date=9 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="eurcost">{{cite web|title = The Witcher 3 sells 6m copies in six weeks | date = 26 August 2015| work=[[Eurogamer]]| url = http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-26-the-witcher-3-sells-6m-copies-in-six-weeks| first = Robert| last = Purchese |accessdate=27 August 2015}}</ref> The team released 15 [[downloadable content|content downloads]] and the first expansion, ''Hearts of Stone'' for ''The Witcher 3''.<ref name="EXPANSION">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/07/2-massive-expansions-announced-for-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt|title=2 Massive Expansion Announced For The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt|first=Daniel|last=Krupa|work=[[IGN]]|date=7 April 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> CD Projekt released two other ''The Witcher'' games: ''The Witcher Adventure'' (a board game for PC, [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/5/5783294/witcher-adventure-game-mac-pc-android-ios-beta|title=The Witcher Adventure Game headed to Mac, PC, Android and iOS|first=Dave|last=Tach|work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|date=5 June 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> and ''The Witcher: Battle Arena'', a [[multiplayer online battle arena]] game for iOS and Android.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/20/the-witcher-battle-arena-release-date-announced|title=The Witcher Battle Arena Release Date Announced|first=Michael|last=Martin|work=[[IGN]]|date=19 January 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
Line 66: Line 67:


[[File:Gog-logo-2014.svg|right|thumb|alt=Stylised GOG.com lettering|GOG.com logo|150px]]
[[File:Gog-logo-2014.svg|right|thumb|alt=Stylised GOG.com lettering|GOG.com logo|150px]]
In 2008 the company introduced [[Good Old Games]], a distribution service with a [[digital rights management]]-free strategy.<ref name="book"/> After a fake closure to "generate some buzz", the service resumed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/gog-com-apologise-for-hoax-closure/|title=GOG hoax: "we could not miss a chance to generate some buzz"|first=Graham|last=Smith|work=[[PC Gamer]]|date=22 September 2010|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The service aims to help players find "good old games", preserving old games. To do so, the team needed to unravel licensing issues for defunct developers or negotiate with publishers for distribution rights. To recover old code for conversion to modern platforms, they had to use retail versions or second-hand games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/09/16/how-gog-com-save-and-restore-classic-videogames/|title=How GOG.com Save And Restore Classic Videogames|first=Tom|last=Bennet|work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]|date=16 September 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> CD Projekt partnered with small developers and large publishers, including [[Activision]], [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Ubisoft]], for the service in an effort to branch out to triple-A and [[independent video games]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gog.com/news/bigger_fresher_newer_see_whats_new_on_gogcom | title=Bigger. Fresher. Newer. See what's new on GOG.com | date = 2012-03-27 | accessdate = 2012-04-05 | publisher = GOG.com}}</ref> Despite suspicions that it was a "doomed project", according to managing director Guillaume Rambourg, it has expanded since its introduction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gog-celebrates-six-years-of-advancing-the-drm-free/1100-6422150/|title=GOG Celebrates Six Years of Advancing the "DRM-Free Movement"|first=Eddie|last=Makuch|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=8 September 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> Income from GOG.com (known internally as CD Projekt Blue) accrues to CD Projekt RED.<ref name="EuroGDev"/>
In 2008 the company introduced [[Good Old Games]], a distribution service with a [[digital rights management]]-free strategy.<ref name="book"/> The service aims to help players find "good old games", preserving old games. To do so, the team needed to unravel licensing issues for defunct developers or negotiate with publishers for distribution rights. To recover old code for conversion to modern platforms, they had to use retail versions or second-hand games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/09/16/how-gog-com-save-and-restore-classic-videogames/|title=How GOG.com Save And Restore Classic Videogames|first=Tom|last=Bennet|work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]|date=16 September 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> CD Projekt partnered with small developers and large publishers, including [[Activision]], [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Ubisoft]], to broaden the service's portfolio of games to triple-A and [[independent video games]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gog.com/news/bigger_fresher_newer_see_whats_new_on_gogcom | title=Bigger. Fresher. Newer. See what's new on GOG.com | date = 2012-03-27 | accessdate = 2012-04-05 | publisher = GOG.com}}</ref> Despite suspicions that it was a "doomed project", according to managing director Guillaume Rambourg, it has expanded since its introduction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gog-celebrates-six-years-of-advancing-the-drm-free/1100-6422150/|title=GOG Celebrates Six Years of Advancing the "DRM-Free Movement"|first=Eddie|last=Makuch|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=8 September 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> Income from GOG.com (known internally as CD Projekt Blue) accrues to CD Projekt RED.<ref name="EuroGDev"/>


===Future===
===Future===
Line 96: Line 97:
=={{anchor|Philosophy}}Company philosophy==
=={{anchor|Philosophy}}Company philosophy==
{{quotebox|quote=The moment we start becoming conservative [and] stop taking creative risks and business risks, and stop being true to what we're doing, that's when we should worry. And I am not worried. Our values and our care for what we are doing and – hopefully what gamers would agree with – care for gamers is what drives this company forward. It's my personal horror to become a faceless behemoth of game development or publishing or whatnot. As long as I am here I will be fighting for this not to happen.|source= — CD Projekt RED founder Marcin Iwiński, on maintaining independence<ref name="fight"/>|width=33%}}
{{quotebox|quote=The moment we start becoming conservative [and] stop taking creative risks and business risks, and stop being true to what we're doing, that's when we should worry. And I am not worried. Our values and our care for what we are doing and – hopefully what gamers would agree with – care for gamers is what drives this company forward. It's my personal horror to become a faceless behemoth of game development or publishing or whatnot. As long as I am here I will be fighting for this not to happen.|source= — CD Projekt RED founder Marcin Iwiński, on maintaining independence<ref name="fight"/>|width=33%}}
When the team develops a game, they focus on a few aspects and assessed the value of other features. This approach, they hope, helps to maintain the quality of their games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-06-19-witcher-3-dev-on-next-gen-avoiding-an-average-crappy-game|title=Witcher 3 dev on next-gen, avoiding an "average, crappy game"|first=Mike|last=Williams|work=Gameindustry.biz|date=19 June 2013|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The company focused on the development of role-playing games, with the team working on established franchises with a fan base and introducing lesser-known franchises to a wide audience.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/174151/what_the_witcher_taught_cd_projekt_.php?print=1|title=What The Witcher Taught CD Projekt About RPGs|first=Tom|last=Curtis|work=[[Gamasutra]]|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> When the team develops an open-world game, they prioritise quest design over the size of its world in the belief that having choices to make encourages players to immerse themselves in the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://killscreendaily.com/articles/how-cd-projekt-red-reinventing-open-world-witcher-3/|title=How CD Projekt RED Is Reinventing The Open World In Witcher 3|first=Patrick|last=Doolin|work=[[Kill Screen]]|date=28 January 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
They decided to focus on a few aspects and assess the value of other features. This approach, they hope, helps to maintain the quality of their games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-06-19-witcher-3-dev-on-next-gen-avoiding-an-average-crappy-game|title=Witcher 3 dev on next-gen, avoiding an "average, crappy game"|first=Mike|last=Williams|work=Gameindustry.biz|date=19 June 2013|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The company focused on the development of role-playing games, with the team working on established franchises with a fan base and introducing lesser-known franchises to a wide audience.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/174151/what_the_witcher_taught_cd_projekt_.php?print=1|title=What The Witcher Taught CD Projekt About RPGs|first=Tom|last=Curtis|work=[[Gamasutra]]|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> When the team develops an open-world game, they prioritise quest design over the size of its world in the belief that having choices to make encourages players to immerse themselves in the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://killscreendaily.com/articles/how-cd-projekt-red-reinventing-open-world-witcher-3/|title=How CD Projekt RED Is Reinventing The Open World In Witcher 3|first=Patrick|last=Doolin|work=[[Kill Screen]]|date=28 January 2014|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>


The team makes the players their priority; according to Iwiński, support from players "drives" the company<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-17-inside-the-witcher-3-launch|title=Into the wild: inside The Witcher 3 launch|first=Robert|last=Purchese|work=[[Eurogamer]]|date=20 August 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> (which considers themselves "rebels").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/02/11/we-are-rebels-the-business-of-the-witcher-and-cd-projekt-red.aspx|title=We Are Rebels: The Business Of The Witcher And CD Projekt Red|first=Ben|last=Hanson|work=[[Game Informer]]|date=11 February 2013|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The team focuses on creative strategy over business strategy. CD Projekt RED opposes the inclusion of digital-rights-management technology in video games and software. The company believes that DRM is ineffective in halting software piracy, based on data from sales of ''[[The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings]]''. CD Projekt RED found that their initial release (which included DRM technology) was pirated over 4.5 million times; their DRM-free re-release was pirated far less,<ref name="forbes drm">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-dev-publishers-use-drm-as-smokescreen-to-cover-their-a-es/1100-6416136/|title=Witcher dev: Publishers use DRM as "smokescreen" to cover their a**es|first=Eddie|last=Makuch|work=[[GameSpot]] |date=12 November 2013 |accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> and ''The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'' was released without DRM technology.<ref name="cdpr drm">{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103075045/http://cdpred.com/no-drm-in-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-an-open-letter-to-the-community/|title=No DRM in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – an open letter to the community |publisher=CD Projekt RED |first=Marcin |last=Iwinski |date=30 October 2013 |accessdate=28 November 2013 }}</ref> The team, believing that free downloadable content should be an industry standard, published 15 free DLC releases for ''Wild Hunt'' as an example to others in the industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/witcher-3-devs-cd-projekt-red-think-dlc-should-be-free-1516457|title=Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red thinks free DLC should be industry standard|first=Ben|last=Skipper|work=[[International Business Times]]|date=21 August 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>
The team makes the players their priority; according to Iwiński, support from players "drives" the company<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-17-inside-the-witcher-3-launch|title=Into the wild: inside The Witcher 3 launch|first=Robert|last=Purchese|work=[[Eurogamer]]|date=20 August 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> (which considers themselves "rebels").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/02/11/we-are-rebels-the-business-of-the-witcher-and-cd-projekt-red.aspx|title=We Are Rebels: The Business Of The Witcher And CD Projekt Red|first=Ben|last=Hanson|work=[[Game Informer]]|date=11 February 2013|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> The team focuses on creative strategy over business strategy. CD Projekt RED opposes the inclusion of digital-rights-management technology in video games and software. The company believes that DRM is ineffective in halting software piracy, based on data from sales of ''[[The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings]]''. CD Projekt RED found that their initial release (which included DRM technology) was pirated over 4.5 million times; their DRM-free re-release was pirated far less,<ref name="forbes drm">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-dev-publishers-use-drm-as-smokescreen-to-cover-their-a-es/1100-6416136/|title=Witcher dev: Publishers use DRM as "smokescreen" to cover their a**es|first=Eddie|last=Makuch|work=[[GameSpot]] |date=12 November 2013 |accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref> and ''The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'' was released without DRM technology.<ref name="cdpr drm">{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103075045/http://cdpred.com/no-drm-in-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-an-open-letter-to-the-community/|title=No DRM in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – an open letter to the community |publisher=CD Projekt RED |first=Marcin |last=Iwinski |date=30 October 2013 |accessdate=28 November 2013 }}</ref> The team, believing that free downloadable content should be an industry standard, published 15 free DLC releases for ''Wild Hunt'' as an example to others in the industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/witcher-3-devs-cd-projekt-red-think-dlc-should-be-free-1516457|title=Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red thinks free DLC should be industry standard|first=Ben|last=Skipper|work=[[International Business Times]]|date=21 August 2015|accessdate=21 October 2015}}</ref>

Revision as of 04:25, 19 December 2015

CD Projekt
Company typeSpółka Akcyjna
WSE: CDR
ISINPLOPTTC00011
IndustryComputer and video games
Founded1994
Founders
  • Marcin Iwiński
  • Michał Kiciński
Headquarters
Warsaw
,
Poland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Adam Kiciński (President, CEO)
Marcin Iwiński (CEO)
Products
Revenue2,138,875,000 złoty (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
1,157,077,000 złoty (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
1,154,327,000 złoty (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets2,894,478,000 złoty (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
230+[1]
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.cdprojekt.com

CD Projekt (Polish pronunciation: [ˌsiːˈdi ˈprɔjɛkt̪]) is a Polish video game developer, publisher and distributor based in Warsaw, which was founded in 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński. Iwiński and Kiciński were video-game retailers before they founded the company. CD Projekt is best known for their The Witcher series of video games and their digital-distribution service, GOG.com.

The company began translating major Western video-game releases into Polish, collaborating with Interplay Entertainment for two Baldur's Gate games. CD Projekt was working on the PC version of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance when Interplay experienced financial difficulties. The game was cancelled and company decided to use its code for their own video game. It became The Witcher, a video game based on the works of Andrzej Sapkowski.

After the release of The Witcher, CD Projekt worked on a console port called The Witcher: White Wolf; but development issues and increasing costs almost led the company to the brink of bankruptcy. CD Projekt later released The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, their first open world video games, which received positive critical reviews. The company's upcoming project is Cyberpunk 2077, an open-world role-playing game based on the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop system.

A video game distribution service, GOG.com was established by CD Projekt to help players find old games. Its mission is to offer DRM-free games for players and its service was expanded to cover new AAA and independent games. The company opposes digital rights management in video games, and hopes that free downloadable content becomes an industry standard. CD Projekt considers maintaining their independence one of their most important strategies. The company currently focuses on the international market, particularly Europe and North America, and spun off its Polish business cdp.pl in 2014.[2]

History

Founding

Young man in a T-shirt giving a talk
CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński

CD Projekt was founded in 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michal Kiciński. According to Iwiński, although he enjoyed playing video games as a child they were scarce in Poland (which was in the Soviet Union's sphere of influence at the time). Polish copyright law did not exist and Iwiński, in high school, sold cracked copies of Western video games at a Warsaw marketplace.[3] In high school Iwiński met Kiciński, who became his business partner; at that time, Kiciński also sold video games.[4]

Wanting to conduct business legitimately, Iwiński and Kiciński began importing games from US retailers and were the first importers of CD-ROM games.[5] With the collapse of communism in Poland with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, they founded their own company. Iwiński (20 years old at the time) and Kiciński founded CD Projekt in the second quarter of 1994. With only $2,000, they used a friend's flat as a rent-free office.[3][4]

Localization

When CD Projekt was founded, their biggest challenge was overcoming video game piracy. The company was one of the first in Poland to localize games; according to Iwiński, most of their products were sold to "mom-and-pop shops". CD Projekt began partial localization for developers such as Seven Stars and Leryx-LongSoft in 1996, and full-scale localization a year later.[6] To sell their games, they approached BioWare and Interplay Entertainment for the Polish localization of Baldur's Gate. They expected the title to become popular in Poland, and no retailer would be able to translate the text from English version to Polish. To increase the title's popularity in Poland, CD Projekt added items to the game's packaging and hired well-known Polish actors to voice its characters. Their first attempt was successful, with 18,000 units shipped on the game's release day (higher than the average shipments of other games at the time).[3][4]

The company continued to work with Interplay after the release of Baldur's Gate, collaborating on a PC port for the sequel Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. To develop the port, CD Projekt hired Sebastian Zieliński (who had developed Mortyr 2093-1944) and Adam Badowski, who became head of the company's game-development division CD Projekt RED. Six months after development began, Interplay experienced financial problems and cancelled the PC version. CD Projekt continued to localize other games after Dark Alliance's cancellation, and received Business Gazelle awards in 2003 and 2004.[7]

Game development

Enthusiasm for game distribution ebbed, and CD Projekt's founders wondered if the company should continue as a distributor or a game developer after Dark Alliance's cancellation. With the game cancelled and its code owned by CD Projekt, the company planned to use them to develop their first original game.[3][4] They intended to develop a game series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's Wiedźmin books (which were popular in Poland) and the author accepted the company's development proposal. The franchise rights had been sold to a Polish mobile game studio, but the studio had not worked on anything related to the franchise and CD Projekt acquired the rights to the Wiedźmin franchise. According to Iwiński, he and Kiciński had no idea how to develop a video game at that time.[4]

After two weeks of meetings we get two emails saying, in a very nice British way, "It's not so good". So pretty much: "Boys, go home". We were shattered. We were like, "Oh my god we suck".

— CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński, on publisher rejection of the Witcher demo[4]

To develop the game, the company formed a video-game development studio (CD Projekt RED, headed by Sebastian Zieliński) in Łódź in 2002. The studio made a demonstration game, which Adam Badowski called "a piece of crap" in retrospect. The demo was a role-playing game with a top-down perspective, similar to Dark Alliance and Diablo, and used the game engine which powered Mortyr.[8] Iwiński and Kiciński pitched the demo to a number of publishers, without success. The Łódź office closed and the staff, except for Zieliński, moved to the Warsaw headquarters.[4]

Zieliński left the company, and Kiciński headed the project. Although the game's development continued, the demo was abandoned. According to CD Projekt, the development team had different ideas for the game and lacked overall direction; as a result, it was returned to the drawing board in 2003.[9][10] The team, unfamiliar with video-game development, spent nearly two years organising production.[5] They received assistance from BioWare, who helped promote the game at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo by offering CD Projekt space in their booth next to Jade Empire. BioWare also licensed their Aurora game engine to the company.[11]

The game's budget exceeded expectations. The original 15-person development team expanded to about 100, at a cost of 20 million złoty. According to Iwiński, content was removed from the game for budgetary reasons but the characters' personalities were retained; however, there was difficulty in translating the game's Polish text into English.[12] Atari agreed to publish the game.[13] After five years of development,[5] The game would bring Wiedźmin to an international audience, and so the company came up with an English name: The Witcher. The Witcher was released in 2007 to generally positive reviews.[14]

Sales were satisfactory, and the development of sequels began almost immediately after The Witcher's release. The team began the design work for The Witcher 2 (again powered by the Aurora Engine), and experimented with consoles and developed a new engine for The Witcher 3. Their development were halted when the team began work on The Witcher: White Wolf, a console version of The Witcher.[4] Although they collaborated with French studio Widescreen Games for the console port, it entered development limbo. Widescreen demanded more manpower, money and time to develop the title, complaining that they were not being paid;[15] according to Iwiński, CD Projekt paid them more than their own staff members. The team cancelled the project, suspending its development.[16] Unhappy with the decision, Atari demanded that CD Projekt repay them for funding the console port development and Iwiński agreed that Atari would be the North American publisher of the sequel of The Witcher 2.[4] CD Projekt acquired Metropolis Software in 2008.[17]

The dispute over White Wolf was costly; the company faced bankruptcy,[18] with the financial crisis of 2007–08 a contributing factor.[4] To stay afloat, the team decided to focus on The Witcher 2 with the Witcher 3 engine. When the engine (known as REDengine) was finished, the game could be ported to other consoles.[19] To develop The Witcher 2, the company suspended development of Metropolis' first-person shooter They.[20] After three-and-a-half years of development, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was released in 2011 to critical praise[4] and sales of more than 1.7 million copies.[21]

After The Witcher 2 CD Projekt wanted to develop an open-world game of a quality similar to their other games, and the company wanted to add features to avoid criticism that it was Witcher 2.5. They wanted to push the game's graphics boundaries, releasing it only for the PC and eighth-generation consoles. This triggered debate on the team, some of whom wanted to release the game for older consoles to maximise profit.[4] The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt took three-and-a-half years to develop[5] and cost over $81 million.[4][22] After multiple delays, it was released in May 2015 to critical praise.[23] Wild Hunt was commercially successful, selling six million copies in its first six weeks and giving the studio a profit of 236 million złoty ($62.5 million) in the first half of 2015.[24][25] The team released 15 content downloads and the first expansion, Hearts of Stone for The Witcher 3.[26] CD Projekt released two other The Witcher games: The Witcher Adventure (a board game for PC, iOS and Android)[27] and The Witcher: Battle Arena, a multiplayer online battle arena game for iOS and Android.[28]

In December 2015, CD Projekt RED won the "Developer of the Year" award at The Game Awards 2015.[29]

Game distribution

CD Projekt is a game distributor, and their Polish company (a digital distribution platform focusing on the Polish market) was renamed Cdp.pl in 2012. The service, which provided technical assistance, expanded to movies, electronic books and comics.[7] Cdp.pl was later separated, with CD Projekt holding a controlling share. CD Projekt reduced its share to 8.29 percent, since the company wanted to aim at the global market rather than the Polish one. The companies would co-operate with each other for the distribution of games.[2]

Stylised GOG.com lettering
GOG.com logo

In 2008 the company introduced Good Old Games, a distribution service with a digital rights management-free strategy.[6] The service aims to help players find "good old games", preserving old games. To do so, the team needed to unravel licensing issues for defunct developers or negotiate with publishers for distribution rights. To recover old code for conversion to modern platforms, they had to use retail versions or second-hand games.[30] CD Projekt partnered with small developers and large publishers, including Activision, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, to broaden the service's portfolio of games to triple-A and independent video games.[31] Despite suspicions that it was a "doomed project", according to managing director Guillaume Rambourg, it has expanded since its introduction.[32] Income from GOG.com (known internally as CD Projekt Blue) accrues to CD Projekt RED.[4]

Future

CD Projekt developed three Witcher titles before deciding that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would be the final game in the series.[21][33] The company's next project is Cyberpunk 2077, an open-world role-playing game based on the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop system created by Mike Pondsmith. Introduced in May 2012 with an international development team,[34] it was described by CD Projekt as "far bigger" than The Witcher III.[21] The team is also working on Blood and Wine, the second paid expansion for Wild Hunt.[26]

Games developed

Year Game Platform(s) Engine Notes
2007 The Witcher Microsoft Windows, OS X Aurora Engine Enhanced Edition released in 2008
2011 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox 360 REDengine Enhanced Edition released in 2012
2014 The Witcher Adventure Game Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS, Android — Co-developed with Fantasy Flight Games
2015 The Witcher Battle Arena iOS, Android Unity Co-developed with Fuero Games
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One REDengine 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stone Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One REDengine 3 Expansion pack to The Witcher 3
2016 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One REDengine 3 Expansion pack to The Witcher 3
TBA Cyberpunk 2077 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One REDengine 3

Company philosophy

The moment we start becoming conservative [and] stop taking creative risks and business risks, and stop being true to what we're doing, that's when we should worry. And I am not worried. Our values and our care for what we are doing and – hopefully what gamers would agree with – care for gamers is what drives this company forward. It's my personal horror to become a faceless behemoth of game development or publishing or whatnot. As long as I am here I will be fighting for this not to happen.

— CD Projekt RED founder Marcin Iwiński, on maintaining independence[35]

They decided to focus on a few aspects and assess the value of other features. This approach, they hope, helps to maintain the quality of their games.[36] The company focused on the development of role-playing games, with the team working on established franchises with a fan base and introducing lesser-known franchises to a wide audience.[37] When the team develops an open-world game, they prioritise quest design over the size of its world in the belief that having choices to make encourages players to immerse themselves in the game.[38]

The team makes the players their priority; according to Iwiński, support from players "drives" the company[39] (which considers themselves "rebels").[40] The team focuses on creative strategy over business strategy. CD Projekt RED opposes the inclusion of digital-rights-management technology in video games and software. The company believes that DRM is ineffective in halting software piracy, based on data from sales of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. CD Projekt RED found that their initial release (which included DRM technology) was pirated over 4.5 million times; their DRM-free re-release was pirated far less,[41] and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released without DRM technology.[42] The team, believing that free downloadable content should be an industry standard, published 15 free DLC releases for Wild Hunt as an example to others in the industry.[43]

According to Adam Badowski, head of CD Projekt RED, maintaining its independence is a company priority. They avoided becoming a subsidiary of another company for financial and creative freedom and ownership of their projects.[44] Electronic Arts was rumoured to be attempting to acquire CD Projekt. This was quickly denied by Iwiński, who said that maintaining the company's independence is something he "will be fighting for".[35]

References

  1. ^ "Interview with Adam Badowski". gry-online.pl. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b "CD Projekt pozbywa się cdp.pl". Gry.Online. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Pitts, Russ. "How The Team Behind The Witcher Conquered Poland". Polygon. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Purchese, Robert (17 May 2015). "Seeing Red: The story of CD Projekt". Eurogamer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Crapple, Craig (10 June 2015). "The wild road to The Witcher 3". Develop. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b Mark J. P. Wolf (15 May 2015). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. p. 416. ISBN 0262527162. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ a b "CDP.pl / CD Projekt". Gry-Online. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  8. ^ Klepek, Patrick (22 May 2015). "The Witcher Was Almost A Diablo Clone". Kotaku. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  9. ^ Blake, Vikki (26 May 2015). "The Witcher Was Nearly A Diablo Inspired Top-down ARPG". IGN. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  10. ^ LaBella, Anthony (22 May 2015). "The Witcher Originally Developed as a Point-and-Click RPG". Game Revolution. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  11. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (27 September 2011). "The Witcher 2 vs. Dragon Age II". GameZone. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  12. ^ Meer, Alec (26 March 2008). "RPS Interview: CD Projekt on The Witcher". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  13. ^ Ransom-Wiley, James (5 February 2007). "Atari to publish The Witcher". Joystiq. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  14. ^ "The Witcher for PC reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  15. ^ Martin, Matt (29 April 2009). "Financial dispute puts The Witcher games on hold". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  16. ^ Vandell, Perry (9 November 2013). "The Witcher 2 almost didn't happen". PC Gamer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Metropolis Joins CD Projekt Group". IGN. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  18. ^ Derocher, Joshua (11 August 2015). "CD Projekt almost failed before The Witcher 2". Destructoid. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  19. ^ Leadbetter, Richard (18 May 2012). "The Making of The Witcher 2". Eurogamer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  20. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (28 January 2012). "CD Projekt puts FPS "They" on hold to work on Witcher 2". VG 247. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  21. ^ a b c Davis, Matthew (15 October 2015). "'We're ready to move on': CD Projekt Red on The Witcher, Hearts of Stone and Cyberpunk 2077". Market for Home Computing and Video Games. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  22. ^ Makuch, Eddie (9 September 2015). "This is How Much The Witcher 3 Cost to Make". GameSpot. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  23. ^ Crossley, Rob (8 December 2014). "The Witcher 3 Delayed Again". GameSpot. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  24. ^ Kerr, Chris (9 September 2015). "Video: CD Projekt's budget breakdown of The Witcher 3". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  25. ^ Purchese, Robert (26 August 2015). "The Witcher 3 sells 6m copies in six weeks". Eurogamer. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  26. ^ a b Krupa, Daniel (7 April 2015). "2 Massive Expansion Announced For The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt". IGN. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  27. ^ Tach, Dave (5 June 2014). "The Witcher Adventure Game headed to Mac, PC, Android and iOS". Polygon. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  28. ^ Martin, Michael (19 January 2015). "The Witcher Battle Arena Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  29. ^ "Nominees | The Game Awards 2015". The Game Awards. Ola Balola. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  30. ^ Bennet, Tom (16 September 2015). "How GOG.com Save And Restore Classic Videogames". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  31. ^ "Bigger. Fresher. Newer. See what's new on GOG.com". GOG.com. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  32. ^ Makuch, Eddie (8 September 2014). "GOG Celebrates Six Years of Advancing the "DRM-Free Movement"". GameSpot. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  33. ^ Makuch, Eddie (6 February 2013). "Witcher 3 may not be final Witcher game". GameSpot. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  34. ^ Crawley, Dan (17 November 2014). "Cyberpunk 2077 is CD Projekt Red's 'Fight Club' — it won't talk about it". VentureBeat. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  35. ^ a b Purchese, Robert (15 September 2015). "We are not talking with anyone regarding selling CD Projekt Red or GOG. Period". Eurogamer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  36. ^ Williams, Mike (19 June 2013). "Witcher 3 dev on next-gen, avoiding an "average, crappy game"". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  37. ^ Curtis, Tom. "What The Witcher Taught CD Projekt About RPGs". Gamasutra. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  38. ^ Doolin, Patrick (28 January 2014). "How CD Projekt RED Is Reinventing The Open World In Witcher 3". Kill Screen. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  39. ^ Purchese, Robert (20 August 2015). "Into the wild: inside The Witcher 3 launch". Eurogamer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  40. ^ Hanson, Ben (11 February 2013). "We Are Rebels: The Business Of The Witcher And CD Projekt Red". Game Informer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  41. ^ Makuch, Eddie (12 November 2013). "Witcher dev: Publishers use DRM as "smokescreen" to cover their a**es". GameSpot. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  42. ^ Iwinski, Marcin (30 October 2013). "No DRM in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – an open letter to the community". CD Projekt RED. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  43. ^ Skipper, Ben (21 August 2015). "Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red thinks free DLC should be industry standard". International Business Times. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  44. ^ Pearson, Dan (7 March 2013). "CD Projekt RED: "Independence is a crucial part of our strategy"". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
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