Summary
- CD Projekt Red confirms Cyberpunk 2 in pre-production, team growing to 96 developers.
- Cyberpunk creator Pondsmith hints at new location: “Chicago gone wrong.”
- Pre-production underway with CD Projekt having a clear vision for Cyberpunk
Game developers CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2 is officially in the pre-production phase and the development team is growing. While The Witcher 4 remains the primary focus of CD Projekt’s 730 developers, they have increased Cyberpunk 2’s team from 84 to 96.
In an interview at the Digital Dragons 2025 Conference, Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith says he has visited CD Projekt and kept up-to-date with what’s happening with Cyberpunk 2, but he’s not as involved as he was with Cyberpunk 2077. Pondsmith revealed a breadcrumb of information he gathered from a conversation with developers, where he described a new location as “Chicago gone wrong“.
(via IGN.com)
“There’s another city we visit — I’m not telling you any more than that, but there’s another city we visit.” Said Pondsmith (via – Digital Dragons)
While there’s not a ton of information about Cyberpunk 2, formerly code-named Orion, Pondsmith recalls his conversation with CD Projekt developers where he said, “I understand the feel you’re going for with this, and this really does work. It doesn’t feel like Blade Runner, it feels more like Chicago gone wrong.” (via IGN.com)
Pre-production involves prototype building, concept creation, and constructing a production roadmap, but it appears CD Projekt already has a clear vision of the game’s main direction. Not only are developers working on an entirely new city to explore, Pondsmith confirmed that Night City will still be there.
The original news of Cyberpunk 2’s pre-production came when CD Projekt announced their latest financial results, stating that Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion had sold 10 million copies, and that “Project Orion has progressed to pre-production.” (via IGN.com)
Cyberpunk 2077 may have had one of the most turbulent releases in gaming history, but it soon became a fan-favorite for its incredibly immersive gameplay.
“The game has recovered quite well following its disastrous launch. Ideally, CD Projekt RED can learn from its mistakes with the sequel and balance its ambition alongside execution and follow-through” – Jake Valentine, DualShockers.
Confirmation of pre-production and a morsel of information about a new “Chicago gone wrong” city gives fans something to anticipate while they experience Cyberpunk 2077 on the Nintendo Switch 2 coming out on June 5th.
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