Cyberpunk 2077 continues. CD Projekt Red has already confirmed this. The sequel isn’t coming anytime soon though. Because, as the developer studio is now suggesting, the actual development will not begin until 2024 at the earliest. Project Orion should therefore be a long time coming.
The next cyberpunk is coming…but not anytime soon
This is the current schedule: In the latest financial conference CFO Piotr Nielubiwicz and CEO Adam Kicinski have commented on how the Cyberpunk brand will continue in the foreseeable future. In 2023, Phantom Liberty will be the first and only story expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, after which work on Project Orion will begin, but not the actual development.
Because as soon as Phantom Liberty has been released, its responsible development team is divided: One part is dedicated to Project Polaris, the next Witcher role-playing game, and will support the developers currently assigned to it. The rest then start the concept phase for the next cyberpunk.
According to Kicinski, the actual development will not start before 2024. That’s not really surprising given that CD Projekt Red has big plans for the Witcher franchise. The work on The Witcher 4 and Project Polaris is in focus after the release of Phantom Liberty, as the following graphic from the studio shows:
link to Twitter content
What this reveals about the release: The next cyberpunk will be a long time coming. If the actual development of Project Orion does not start until 2024, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely years away. After Phantom Liberty, the next Witcher will probably appear first.
At the same time, CD Projekt Red is already planning a whole new Witcher trilogy (and a remake of part 1) to be released over a period of six years. It remains to be seen whether this also stands in the way of the development or release of a new cyberpunk. After all, CD Projekt Red has greatly expanded its development teams in recent months and brought reinforcements into the house.
At least one thing is certain: The next cyberpunk isn’t coming anytime soon. You can get an overview of all the projects that CD Projekt Red is planning for the next few years in the following article. All Witcher and Cyberpunk games that await us in the near and distant future:
Witchers and cyberpunks
All the new games that CD Projekt Red is currently working on
This is how Cyberpunk (2077) continues
This happened last: The release of Edgerunners update 1.6 has paid off for CD Projekt Red – literally. But the latest changes and improvements were also pretty well received in terms of player numbers and the mood in the community. Meanwhile, the developers have already revealed what future patches should bring.
This will happen in 2023: With Phantom Liberty, the big expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 will also appear sometime in 2023, for which even Keanu Reeves will return as Johnny Silverhand. You can find out what we know so far about the first and only story DLC in our overview of Phantom Liberty – You can watch the official trailer as follows:
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Cyberpunk 2077: Big story addon Phantom Liberty presented in the first teaser trailer
What else happens: Meanwhile, the chances of a season 2 of the Netflix series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners are pretty slim. It was designed for just one season from the start. It remains to be seen whether the groundbreaking success of Edgerunners will change that.
Which would you wish for sooner: a new Witcher game or a new Cyberpunk? Let us know in the comments!