CD Projekt RED, known for its award-winning titles such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, recently revealed good news about its upcoming title, Project Orion.
Project Orion, the codename for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, is next on the Polish studio’s docket, next to The Witcher 4. While it isn’t expected to be released anytime soon, CDPR wants to make sure that it’s the best game it can be.
To make this happen, CDPR has brought onboard several industry veterans to its team as it incorporates talents with backgrounds in major gaming franchises like Diablo, Mortal Kombat, Hitman, Dishonored, and more.
Dan Hernberg, with a rich history as head of production at Amazon Games and lead product manager at Blizzard Entertainment, has joined Project Orion as the executive producer. His experience with games like New World and Diablo III is expected to bring decades worth of knowledge and experience to the project. Ryan Barnard, who’s known for stints with Ubisoft Massive and IO Interactive, steps in as the design director, bringing his vast experience from working on games such as The Division and Hitman 2.
The engineering director role is filled by Alan Villani, who has previously contributed his technical skills to the Mortal Kombat series among other Warner Bros. projects. Anna Megill, who has worked on narrative-driven titles like Control, Dishonored: Death of The Outsider, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, will lead the writing efforts for Project Orion. Additionally, Alexander Freed, with a background in writing for BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic and other notable titles, joins the writing team, further enriching the game’s narrative potential.
Project Orion is in the early stages of development over at CDPR’s North American studios in Boston and Vancouver.
With the original Cyberpunk 2077 and its Phantom Liberty DLC behind them, the team wants to bring new gameplay enhancements and features to the sequel. It might consider adding multiplayer elements to the sequel, a feature notably removed from the first game. CDPR is aiming for Cyberpunk to experience an evolution similar to that of The Witcher, indicating a desire for the sequel to introduce significant improvements and expansions in gameplay.
By leveraging the expertise of these new team members, CDPR is in a position to create a sequel that builds upon the foundations of Cyberpunk 2077 while setting a new benchmark for the RPG genre.
As development progresses, CDPR continues to hire for various positions across its Boston and Vancouver locations, which is indicative of an ongoing effort to assemble a team capable of bringing Project Orion to fruition.
With the project still in the conceptual design phase and an ambitious hiring plan in place, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated titles of the decade.
