We've known about CD Projekt Red's next game, Cyberpunk 2077, for quite some time now, but information about the title remains sparse, with the only things really known about the game are the setting, the fact that it is larger than The Witcher 3 and that it supposedly has more people working on it than The Witcher 3 ever did. However, our knowledge of the game might have just expanded greatly thanks to the studio's recent actions.
The Witcher 3 has set the bar high for both CD Projekt Red and open-world exploration, and it looks like the Polish-based studio is set to keep that momentum going and perhaps even exceed it.
According to a translation from Polish to English by gaming website GamePressure, CD Projekt RED is requesting a grant for a "City Creation" feature. This, as the site reports, is "a complex technology for creating a huge living city, playable in real time, which (the technology) is based on rules, AI and automation, as well as supports innovative processes and tools for making top-notch open-world games."
Simply put, this means that the studio would be able to lay the foundation for a "living city" where players would be able to experience as if they were just any other citizen (think Skyrim but even more advanced).
The studio is also requesting a grant for "Seamless Multiplayer," which is described as a "complex technology for making unique multiplayer gameplay mechanics, including the ability to search out for opponents, manage game session, replicate objects as well as support for different game modes along with a unique set of dedicated tools." This means that players would be able to drop in and out of another player's world - something similar to what ex-Metal Gear Solid producer Hideo Kojima expressed interest in for Death Stranding at Tokyo Game Show earlier this month.
Lastly, the studio requested grants for "Animation Excellence" and "Cinematic Feel," though those two are likely more self-expanatory than the other two.
Unfortunately, here is the problem: we don't know whether these are actually features coming to Cyberpunk 2077.
Sure, the grant applications are real enough, CD Projekt Red's public relations officer Robert Malinowski confirmed as much when questioned on the matter, saying, "We did apply, I can confirm that, yes. However, we wouldn't like to elaborate beyond what's already there."
However, assuming that those applications are ultimately successful, nowhere in those applications does it explicitly state that these technologies are for Cyberpunk 2077. Furthermore, the game's Twitter page has been inactive since December 2013 and the Facebook page has been inactive since April 2014.
That said, it's possible these features could be coming to Cyberpunk 2077, but it's equally possible that they are for something else entirely. And, of course, there's the chance that these will be applied to multiple CD Projekt Red-developed games in the future.
