CDPR’s executive producer in a recent interview has revealed that Cyberpunk 2 will be more authentically American, thanks to its new Boston studio.
CD Projekt recently opened a new studio in Boston to help develop the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. While most of the company is currently focused on the next game in The Witcher series, Project Orion, the follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077, is also in the works.
And adding to the info already known, during the latest episode of the studio’s AnsweRED podcast, acting executive producer Dan Hernberg explained why it makes sense for the sequel to be developed in North America.
According to Hernberg and other CDP developers, the new North American studio is crucial for making the game feel genuinely American, something that Cyberpunk 2077 struggled with.
Hernberg said, “I think Cyberpunk is obviously a uniquely American story. It’s got a lot of like punk energy, and it was written by an American, so it just seems right to do it in America.”
He elaborated that subtle details like curbs and street signs are different in the US compared to Europe, stating, “Our curbs are different, our color is different on all of our signs. Everything’s just slightly different. It doesn’t break immersion, but it’s just that little thing where you’re like, ‘well, maybe this wasn’t made by people who live here or people who fully understand all of American culture.’”
One developer pointed out a specific area where CDPR missed the mark in Cyberpunk 2077: manhole covers. Associate Game Director Paweł Sasko recounted a Reddit post that blew up after the game’s release. Sasko said, “Like, the manholes that are covering the roads, right? There was this post with the guy saying that there is this immersive breaking bug in Cyberpunk, and the bug was about the fact that the covers for manholes for a sewer were the manholes that you use normally in Europe, in Germany, for a pavement. Those are not manholes that you normally cover in America on the streets.”
He added, “This is basically showing you the differences, right? When you go to America, there’s things like hydrants, where they are placed and how they look like. The street lights, the positions of that, the trash bins, right? They’re in the front of the house, right by the street. In Poland, in Europe, you don’t see it almost anywhere. There’s so much nuance. Dan, when we talk about it, he calls it the Americana.”
With Cyberpunk 2077’s development officially concluded, all of CDPR’s resources are now focused on the sequel. And although it’s still early in development and will take some time to complete, the new Boston studio seems to offer a significant advantage to the game.
CD Projekt RED can now access a talented pool of North American professionals, including graduates from prestigious universities like Harvard and MIT. Additionally, they are collaborating with their existing Vancouver studio on Project Orion. Hernberg also hinted that the Canadian team is working on some “really cool stuff” for the sequel, adding to the anticipation.
Well, it will be interesting to see how the collaboration between the Boston and Vancouver studios, combined with the new focus on authentically American details, shapes the development of Cyberpunk 2.
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