CD Projekt Red orders crunch on Cyberpunk 2077, claims report

CD Projekt Red has introduced mandatory crunch on the hotly-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077, according to a report.

The news comes via Bloomberg, who reports that CD Projekt Red employees have been told that working six day weeks will be mandatory leading up to the game’s November release.

Employees were made aware of the decision via an email from CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Badowski, which was shared with Bloomberg.

“Starting today, the entire (development) studio is in overdrive,” wrote Badowski, later explaining that this meant “your typical amount of work and one day of the weekend.”

The extra work will be paid, as required by Polish law, where CD Projekt Red is based.

“I take it upon myself to receive the full backlash for the decision,” he wrote. “I know this is in direct opposition to what we’ve said about crunch. It’s also in direct opposition to what I personally grew to believe a while back — that crunch should never be the answer. But we’ve extended all other possible means of navigating the situation.”

Badowski is likely referring to comments the studio previously made to Kotaku, where they said that they were avoiding mandatory crunch, pledging to being “more humane” to its workers.