Summary
A seniorCD Projekt Redofficial has gone on record to state that the studio doesn’t believe microtransactions have a place in single-player games. And while that move effectively reiterated the company’s long-standing stance on game monetization,CD Projekt Redisn’t entirely ruling out the possibility of implementing microtransactions in the future.
The Warsaw, Poland-based studio has long been a proponent of microtransaction-free single-player games. It also has a substantial track record of publicly reiterating that stance ahead of its every big launch, having done so in the run-up to the release of bothCyberpunk 2077andThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Although some might see repeated assurance of this sort as redundant, therecentDragon’s Dogma 2controversyillustrates that many consumers continue to care deeply about having their single-player games free from microtransactions.
As far asThe Witcherdeveloper is concerned, the company remains firm in its conviction that single-player games should have a single price instead of resorting to such monetization practices. That’s according to CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz, who said as much during a recent investor Q&A session following the release of the group’s latest consolidated financial report. “We don’t see a place for microtransactions in the case of single-player games, but we do not rule out that we will use this solution in the future in the case of multiplayer projects,” Nielubowicz explained, according to the session transcript provided byStockWatch.
The Witcher Multiplayer Spin-Off Might Have Microtransactions
The executive’s comments delivered yet another indirect assurance that theCyberpunk 2077sequel, code-named Orion, won’t have microtransactions. Ditto for Project Polaris,the fourthTheWitchergame that has just entered active production. At the same time, Nielubowicz clearly implied that the possibility ofThe Witchermultiplayer spin-off, Project Sirius, having microtransactions is still on the table.
We don’t see a place for microtransactions in the case of single-player games, but we do not rule out that we will use this solution in the future in the case of multiplayer projects.
The CFO also clarified that the studio is approachingThe Witchermultiplayer gameas a triple-A project. This conceivably increases the likelihood of Project Sirius featuring microtransactions, not least because of the steadily rising costs of big-budget multiplayer game development. It is currently unclear whether Sirius is meant to be a live-service game, although Nielubowicz did imply it will feature co-op elements during the Q&A session.
CDPR currently has two other titles in the works, the remake of the 2007The Witcherand Project Hadar, described as its first original IP. Both are currently in pre-production and may not see the light of day until the end of the decade, at the earliest. At the same time, CDPR is not just open to but actively pursuing the possibility of licensing its existing IPs to mobile developers, according to CEO Adam Kiciński. ApotentialCyberpunkmobile gamewould ostensibly feature microtransactions, given CDPR’s track record in the niche, even if such a title were to be developed externally.
CD Projekt Red
CD Projekt Red is a Polish game development company known primarily for developing The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077. The company also runs GOG.com, a distribution service meant to help players find older games, games free of DRM barriers, and more.
