The Witcher developer CD Projekt RED is trading in its swords and shields for guns and cybernetic implants. The studio is working on a video game adaptation of the classic pen-and-paper role-playing game Cyberpunk.
CD Projekt RED made the announcement today during its annual Summer Conference. It claims Cyberpunk “will not be a game for everybody.” It will be a mature and brutal title with a non-linear storyline and advanced game mechanics based on the pen-and-paper system. It will also feature various character classes and a “gigantic” selection of weapons, upgrades, implants, and “cool, high-tech toys.”
Cyberpunk, originally published by R. Talsorian Games in the 1980s, is inspired by the noir sci-fi fiction of authors like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. According to CD Projekt RED, R. Talsorian has published over 44 handbooks and has amassed a following of 5 million players in its 25-year lifespan.
CD Projekt has formed a second development team composed of The Witcher 1 and 2 veterans to work on the project along with Cyberpunk creator Michael Pondsmith. Studio co-founder Marcin Iwinski says his team wants its new game to be an outstanding new standard in the futuristic RPG genre.