The Revitalization of Cyberpunk 2077: A Story of Restructuring and Growth

Gabe Amatangelo, game director at CD Projekt Red, began his DICE 2024 keynote with a personal anecdote, recalling a conversation with a cafe staffer in Poland who expressed concern over the rocky launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Amatangelo acknowledged the challenges the studio faced, including external pressures and internal trauma, which affected not only the team but also their personal lives. To address these issues, the studio underwent a significant restructuring, focusing on staff motivation and development business operations. A key aspect of this transformation was the implementation of a pipeline, allowing department heads to resolve conflicts more effectively during development. The new organizational structure, which replicated the game director's role, enabled the studio to release the Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty DLC in 2023. Amatangelo highlighted the benefits of this new structure, including better collaboration, more effective communication, and a greater sense of ownership among employees. The studio also conducted a retrospective analysis to identify key factors that contributed to the game's turnaround, including distributed ownership, alignment, cross-functional teams, and QA integration. Moving forward, the studio aims to involve QA in the early stages of pipeline development and encourage employees to take a step back and play the game to gain a deeper understanding of their work. Amatangelo emphasized the importance of adaptability and a willingness to change, which he believes was crucial to the game's improvement. The game's success can also be attributed to the loyalty and feedback of its userbase, who gave the studio a second chance and provided valuable insights.