Cyberpunk Tabletop Creator On Why He Chose CD Projekt RED for Cyberpunk 2077

Tabletop fans of the original Cyberpunk 2020 were thrilled to find out that the studio that gave us The Witcher series was bringing that experience into the world of video games with Cyberpunk 2077. While the customization and realm of tech is new for CD Projekt RED, the studio is actually the perfect fit for a project of this scale and tabletop Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith definitely agrees. 

Pondsmith recently sat down with the team over at Video Games Chronicle to talk about the “many, many different” studios he turned down before confirming CD Projekt RED for the job. When asked if a video game adaptation of a 30-year old experience could do the source material justice, he replied:  “Yes, but that’s not why it’s working now. The reason is that from the start CDPR are fans: they play the [pen and paper] game. Many of them grew up playing the game.

“So this is like a bunch of guys who watched the Star Wars movies as kids and then got a chance to make a Star Wars game: they would do the best damn job they could.

“That is why we went with them. This game has been optioned for years to many, many different studios. But what I saw in CD Projekt was that they really cared about it and the things that were important to us were important to them. So I knew it was in good hands.”

He’s also all-hands on deck for this project, assisting with keeping this game’s authenticity to the original tabletop experience. Pondsmith added: “We have a unique take on the cyberpunk genre: it’s a heroic kind of cyberpunk in this sort of dirty, gritty way, but you can still be the hero.

“That’s unusual for the genre and a lot of the game companies who have been interested before saw maybe the Blade Runner-esque qualities, but they didn’t see the weird, fun and dangerous, risky elements. It’s hard to describe. It was the ethos of the 80s, that a lone person with a gun and an attitude could change the world.”

As for the game itself, Cyberpunk 2077 is making its grand debut on April 16 next year on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.