Comment on CD Projekt Red devs unionise after its third round of layoffs in three months
TWeaK@lemm.ee 11 months agoThey never used to be. I got a massive discount for buying Witcher 3, even though I didn’t buy the earlier ones from them, and it came with all DLC as they came out, eventually turning into the GOTY edition. Then with Cyberpunk they got greedy and hired a Hollywood actor who pressured them into releasing before it was ready with standard Hollywood penalty clauses.
VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf 11 months ago
Pretty sure you got that discount from GOG, not CDPR.
All due respect for the amazing devs who actually MAKE, but seems to me like they’re almost as bad as the likes of EA, Ubisoft and 2k when it comes to the business side of things…
Also, got a source on Keanu Reeves pressuring them into releasing Cyberpunk before it was ready?
Because that doesn’t sound like something he’d ever do but it sounds EXACTLY like something greedy publishers might do in spite of devs warning them against it. Since, you know, that’s EXACTLY what has happened many times.
Shiggles@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Friend, who owns GOG?
VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf 11 months ago
Oops, forgot about that.
Still, different department with different people in charge.
TWeaK@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Yes GOG, owned by CDPR. It’s the same people running the show. I think you’re imagining the business as far larger than it is. Hell, the business back when Witcher 3 first came out was much smaller than it is even now.
However things have definitely changed with CDPR. That happened during the Cyberpunk development, which is what I was trying to point out.
I don’t have a source on Keanu Reeves pushing it. It’s my own rationalisation - a theory, but one that fits well. Also, to be clear, I’m not talking about Keanu Reeves the person, I’m talking about Keanu Reeves the Hollywood actor who as a legal entity is represented by a team of agents, negotiating contracts on his behalf.
Keanu Reeves is a Hollywood A-lister, his team has all the weight when it comes to contractual negotiations with CDPR. They negotiate Hollywood contracts. Hollywood expects a movie to take more or less a fixed amount of time, then payment will come in. This does not fit well with game development, which can very easily suffer massive delays. In the past, CDPR have been more than aware of this, and have readily delayed games to get them closer to a finished state. However, CDPR did not do this with Cyberpunk, they pushed and pushed and pushed to get it out the door, coupled alongside a massive Hollywood-style marketing campaign.
Like I say, this is speculation. I don’t claim that this is exactly what happened. However, it seems far more likely than almost every other explanation I’ve read. CDPR were at the height of their game before Cyberpunk, it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t have enough capital (particularly with ongoing income from GOG) to tick things over until the game was finished - unless they had some bigger player they needed to satisfy.
Wogi@lemmy.world 11 months ago
You have demonstrated a complete lack of even a basic understanding of two entirely different industries with one post. Congratulations
TWeaK@lemm.ee 11 months ago
You have not said anything of any worthwhile meaning. Can you please be specific?