CD Projekt Red has revealed Project Orion, the successor to Cyberpunk 2077

The sequel will 'expand the Cyberpunk series and continue to exploit the promise of this dark future universe.'

CD Projekt Red has recently unveiled Project Orion, the successor to Cyberpunk 2077. Project Orion will “push the Cyberpunk franchise farther and continue leveraging the possibilities of this dark future universe,” the developer said in a tweet Tuesday.

CD Projekt’s president and CEO, Adam Kiciski, stated in a YouTube video that the next three games in the developer’s pipeline are based on The Witcher series, implying that Cyberpunk 2077’s sequel is far in the future. He described the sequel as an ambitious title that will necessitate additional expansion of CD Projekt’s more than 1,200-person studio; the firm will create a new hub in Boston, focusing on Project Orion alongside its Vancouver site as CD Projekt Red North America.

Orion is a codename for our next Cyberpunk game, which will take the Cyberpunk franchise further and continue harnessing the potential of this dark future universe. pic.twitter.com/JoVbCf6jYZ

— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) October 4, 2022

CD Projekt Red did not provide any more information or an estimated release date.

Along with the announcement, CD Projekt joint CEO Marcin Iwiski announced his resignation and intention to join CD Projekt’s supervisory board as chairman. It is a non-executive position, which will allow him to “stay active and involved” as a big stakeholder and assist the management board, according to Iwiski.

Cyberpunk 2077 was released in late 2020 in an infamous — and terrible — condition, riddled with bugs and other performance concerns that Sony Interactive Entertainment removed it outright from the PlayStation Store. According to Ars Technica, Microsoft also provided reimbursements, with the projected cost of at least $51 million in refunds and missed sales. Separate from platform initiatives, CD Projekt Red’s “Help Me Refund” program cost the developer $2.17 million of the $51 million total. Nonetheless, it was most likely a minor loss for CD Projekt, which had more than $560 million in revenue as of April 2021.

Since the release of Cyberpunk 2077 two years ago, CD Projekt Red has been regularly upgrading the game. With the improvements, CD Projekt Red is also working on the Phantom Liberty expansion for Cyberpunk 2077. The story-driven expansion is being worked on by 350 people, according to CD Projekt Red.

Phantom Liberty is set to be released in 2023.