Originally published on 30 September 2020

(Updated on 30 September 2020):

CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Badowski has given his official response to the report by Jason Schreier about the developer’s intention to commit to crunching for the last few weeks heading to the Cyberpunk 2077 release date.

He states that it was “the hardest decision I’ve had to make” and that everyone will be well-compensated for their extra overtime. He also confirmed that 10 percent of the company’s annual profit will be divided directly to each employee.

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has told its employees that six-day workweeks will be mandatory ahead of the game’s 19 November 2020 release date. This is despite the fact that the company has previously promised not to force its employees to crunch.

According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, an account from a CD Projekt Red employee recently, as well as an email to staff earlier this week, has proven that the developer is still forcing the culture of crunching.

The CD Projekt Red employee said that some of the staff have already been working on nights and weekends for more than a year. Meanwhile, the email by CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Badowski is self-evident.

Badowski wrote that “starting today, the entire (development) studio is in overdrive,” which means that employees will have to work six days every week. However, unlike other companies who force the same thing, CD Projekt Red will be paying their employees for the overtime as per Polish labour laws.

He also wrote:

“I take it upon myself to receive the full backlash for the decision.

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.”

CD Projekt Red has yet to officially comment on the report by Schreier. Cyberpunk 2077 is slated to release for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on 19 November 2020.