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CD Projekt Red's Light-hearted Take on Ubisoft's Skull and Bones

Exploring CD Projekt Red's playful response to Ubisoft's 'Quadruple-A' claim for Skull and Bones.
CD Projekt Red's Light-hearted Take on Ubisoft's Skull and Bones

Highlights

  • CD Projekt Red humorously responds to Ubisoft's 'AAAA' game tag during an investor call.
  • Despite challenges, CD Projekt Red perseveres with game updates, DLC, and new projects.
  • CD Projekt Red is actively developing sequels to The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, and a new IP.

A team member from the Cyberpunk 2077 developer, CD Projekt Red, recently poked fun at Ubisoft's use of the term 'Quadruple-A' to describe their latest game, Skull and Bones. Drawing inspiration from the naval combat featured in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Ubisoft's Skull and Bones aims to refine that system in a shared-world live service setting. Despite Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot touting Skull and Bones as a 'AAAA' game, its launch in February failed to meet expectations, even leading to a surge in players revisiting Assassin's Creed 4.

CD Projekt Red has had its share of challenges, notably the tumultuous release of Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, plagued by bugs and technical issues. The backlash was severe, resulting in PlayStation pulling the game from its digital store. Despite this, CD Projekt Red didn't give up on Cyberpunk 2077, continuously improving it with updates. The recent Phantom Liberty DLC release garnered praise, solidifying the game's reputation as a top RPG and redeeming CD Projekt Red's standing in the industry.

During a recent investor call Q&A, a CD Projekt Red developer light-heartedly responded to a query about Ubisoft and Skull and Bones. When asked if CD Projekt Red would stick to producing 'only' AAA games, the developer jokingly remarked, 'Ours will be AAAAA.' Some worry that the 'AAAA' trend may set unrealistic expectations for games with high budgets and tight deadlines.

CD Projekt Red's Upcoming Projects

The investor call also disclosed CD Projekt Red's ongoing projects post the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty update. The company is working on three Witcher games: Project Solaris, likely The Witcher 4, a multiplayer Witcher spinoff named Project Sirius, and a remake of the original 2007 Witcher game. Additionally, there's Project Orion, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, in conceptual stages. Furthermore, a new IP referred to as Project Hadar is also in development.

It remains to be seen if Ubisoft will persist with the 'AAAA' description for its upcoming titles. The highly anticipated open-world Star Wars Outlaws game is slated for a later release this year, while the next major Assassin's Creed installment, codenamed Red, might aim for a 2024 launch.

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