After price hikes for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and, more recently, Nintendo Switch 2, it’s a rough time to be a console player. Worldwide memory shortages mean the future doesn’t look too bright either, whether it’s rumors about the PS6’s bill of materials or Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitting that Project Helix will be affected.
But at least one person isn’t worried about the future of consoles: CD Projekt RED joint CEO Michał Nowakowski. He told The Game Business as much in a new interview, adding, “Consoles are still necessary to broaden the audience on the casual or semi-casual level. It’s important to have easy-to-plug-in gaming. I’m a big believer that they’re going to weather the storm.”
Of course, pricing is an “objective challenge”, and delays could cause further issues, even if the industry could ride the high of Grand Theft Auto 6’s release this year. Regardless, Nowakowski believes, “How we reach gamers is a little irrelevant. Content is the king. And if the content is right, people will find a way to play it.
“When we launch, if PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are what people are playing, we’re going to be there. We’re going to find a business model that’s going to work for us, that’s going to be fine for players, and that’s it.
“If the next-gen gets delayed, it could be the case that some ideas are put on a shelf for the future. We’d have to adjust. We’re not worried on the commercial side. Consoles are here to stay.”
Interestingly, this echoes what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said last month, who didn’t think that the rising cost of hardware would “slow us down.” He went on to praise PC as a platform, and given how strongly CD Projekt RED’s titles perform on it, there’s some guarantee of a safe landing, even if next-gen consoles get delayed.
But there’s that bit about putting certain ideas “on a shelf for the future.” Is that referencing upcoming projects like Cyberpunk 2? Perhaps the studio is developing it as a next-gen title and might need to adjust things? Time will certainly tell.
For now, CD Projekt RED is focused on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered, out on September 29th, and Songs of the Past launching in 2027. Then there’s The Witcher 4, which is targeting a 2028 release on PC and consoles (which have yet to be confirmed).
