CD Projekt Red Moves Cyberpunk 2 Into Pre-Production Phase

CD Projekt Red has officially announced that Cyberpunk 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, has entered the pre-production stage of development. The Polish game studio shared this update as part of their latest financial results, revealing that 96 of their 730 developers are now working on the project. The game was previously known by its codename “Project Orion” but is now officially called Cyberpunk 2.

According to CD Projekt, their team completed the conceptual phase several weeks ago, allowing the project to move forward into pre-production. This phase typically involves expanding on game concepts, building prototypes, planning full production schedules, and growing development teams. For major AAA games, pre-production can take several years to complete.

During an investor call, CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski discussed the game’s timeline. When asked about a potential release in late 2030 or early 2031, he didn’t rule out that timeframe. “Our journey from pre-production to final release takes four to five years on average,” Nowakowski explained, though he noted that each project is unique with many variables affecting the final outcome.

Meanwhile, the majority of CD Projekt’s development team – 422 people – continues working on The Witcher 4, which is currently in full production.

Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the original Cyberpunk tabletop game who worked closely with CD Projekt on Cyberpunk 2077, recently shared some early details about the sequel. Speaking at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference, Pondsmith revealed that Cyberpunk 2 will feature a new city alongside the familiar Night City from the first game. He described this new location as feeling “like Chicago gone wrong,” though this doesn’t necessarily mean the game will be set in a future version of Chicago itself.

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