Cyberpunk 2 Release Date Just Got a Major Update Fans Will Love

CD Projekt finally opened up a bit about Cyberpunk 2 (aka the one codenamed 'Project Orion'), and it actually gives us something to work with: headcounts, where the work is happening, and a pretty clear idea of when we might realistically play it. Spoiler: do not clear your 2027 schedule.

Where Orion is right now

On the company’s Q3 2025 earnings call, joint CEO Michal Nowakowski laid out how CD Projekt Red is staffing Orion across its three locations: Boston, Vancouver, and Warsaw. The team is 135 developers today, and the plan is to get that to roughly 300 by 2027. That Boston studio they spun up two years ago? It already has about 80 people, and more than 90% of them are senior-level. That is a lot of veterans in one room, by design — CDPR says they front-loaded leadership and will now start bringing in mid and entry-level folks to push through pre-production tasks. They also want Boston to represent about half of the Orion headcount as the project ramps up, while the Vancouver and Warsaw groups keep growing too.

'We strongly believe that this investment will pay off in the future, bringing the next Cyberpunk experience to a new level.'

Snapshot

• Announced: 2022 under the codename 'Project Orion'
• Current team: 135 devs spread across Boston, Vancouver, and Warsaw
• Boston studio: ~80 people; over 90% are senior-level; goal is to double Boston’s size in the next two years
• Target headcount: ~300 developers on Orion by 2027
• Studio balance: CDPR wants Boston to account for roughly 50% of the Orion team as it scales
• Release timing: earliest scenario is 2028; more realistically think 2029 or 2030 (not official, just what the staffing curve implies)

So what is the game, exactly?

Story specifics are still locked up. Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG that inspired 2077, did tease one flavorful detail in a TVGRY interview: Orion will include a second city that he says will feel like 'Chicago gone wrong.' That’s a vibe. Beyond that, earlier reporting pointed to CDPR aiming for the most realistic, reactive crowd system anyone has shipped so far. And a lead network engineer job listing quietly hinted they are planning multiplayer features this time around.

Why the Boston expansion matters

CDPR credits the Boston hub for making it possible to build two AAA games in parallel (Orion plus the other big one) without losing steam. Yes, splitting work across three countries adds logistical headaches, but the company says the payoff is a deeper pool of experience and perspectives feeding into Orion. The super-senior-heavy Boston roster is unusual, and CDPR’s next big step is filling in the mid-level ranks so that all that leadership actually has an army to lead.

Bottom line: Orion is still gearing up, the studio network is taking shape, and the timelines make sense. If you were hoping to jack back into Night City tomorrow, sorry. But the plan — bigger team, clearer leadership, heavier systems ambition — sounds like CDPR is building toward something substantial.