Codename Project Orion, the sequel to the acclaimed RPG Cyberpunk 2077, is currently being developed at CD Projekt Red's new studio in Boston, and the developers hope that the new setting will bring a more authentic American style to the sequel.
"I think cyberpunk is clearly a distinctly American story," Acting Executive Producer Dan Hernberg explained in a recent episode of the Answer podcast. "It has a lot of punk energy, and the game is written by Americans, so it seems like the right thing to do in the U.S."
The first game and its critically acclaimed DLC, Shadows of the Past, were developed at CD Projekt Red's studio in Wrocław, Poland. This apparently led to some unforeseen complications when it came to creating Night City, which is usually located in California and is essentially a futuristic version of Los Angeles. An example of a game setting getting lost in translation is an internal issue called "manhole cover crash".
"There's a Reddit post saying that Cyberpunk 2077 has an immersion-busting loophole about sewer manhole covers being sidewalk manhole covers that are commonly used in Europe and Germany," Paweł Sasko, associate director of games, said on the podcast. "These aren't the manholes you usually build on American streets."
Sasko continued: "When you go to the U.S., you find things like fire hydrants, where they're put and what they look like." Street lights, location of street lights, dumpsters, right?" They are in front of the house, just off the street. In Poland, in Europe, you don't see it almost anywhere. There are a lot of nuances. When we talk about it, call it 'American culture.'" ”
Hernberg continued: "Our curbs are different, and all of our signs are not the same color. Everything is slightly different. It doesn't break the immersion, but it's just a little thing that makes you think, 'Well, maybe this isn't done by the people who live here, and it's not done by people who know the American culture completely.'" I also think [the studios] are in the U.S., and that gives us the opportunity to engage with the larger American culture, you know, by Hollywood. Obviously, Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in Los Angeles, so we can interact with all of these cultural touchpoints and things, whether it's the music or the story, or the different parts of the United States that are worth exploring. ”
But Project Orion isn't entirely made in the U.S. — CD Projekt Red's Vancouver studio is also involved in the sequel, and Hernberg says the Canadian studio is currently working on some "really cool stuff" for the upcoming game.
The game is currently in early development, so it's not known when players will get their hands on the sequel, but the good news is that they won't have to wait until the next installment in the Witcher series is released, as the new Boston studio specifically allows CD Projekt Red to work on the next game for Project Orion and The Witcher at the same time. CD Projekt Red also said that they are working hard to speed up the release of the game, hoping that players will not have to wait too long to return to Night City.