This time, CD Projekt RED (CDPR) strengthened the team working on the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, codenamed Project Orion, rather than The Witcher IV.
CDPR is currently expanding as it focuses on developing its next major RPG projects. Last week, the Polish developer hired one of the lead designers of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, to showcase his mission design skills in The Witcher IV. Now, CDPR has hired the former narrative lead at Cloud Chamber Games, the team currently working on BioShock 4. Liz Albl joined CDPR last month as the lead writer for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. Prior to that, she spent nearly three years as the narrative lead at Cloud Chamber Games, working on BioShock 4. She also worked on games such as Ghost of Tsushima, Watch Dogs: Legion, and Monolith’s canceled Wonder Woman game for just over a year.
Albl left the Cloud Chamber in August. This was around the time the developer laid off staff after BioShock 4 failed to meet internal expectations. Its narrative was particularly criticized by 2K (Take-Two) executives, who committed to overhauling the development process. BioShock 4 had been in development for a decade before the evaluation, and Take-Two announced six years ago that it was in the works. Following the evaluation, studio head Kelley Gilmore and creative director Hogarth de la Plante left; the latter moved to a publishing position. 2K also canceled the original BioShock remake, although this occurred before the BioShock 4 review.
Rod Fergusson, who most recently worked as the head of the Diablo franchise and, before that, Gears of War, currently oversees the development of BioShock 4. He is best known in BioShock circles, however, as the person who fixed BioShock Infinite. He ruthlessly cut Irrational’s troubled sequel to get the game back on track for its release in 2013.
Not much is known about Albl’s new project. The sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is officially in the early stages of development. One of its new locations will resemble a badly burned Chicago instead of Night City, which is more Blade Runner-esque. It is also very unlikely to be released before 2030.
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