Cyberpunk 2 associate game director Pawel Sasko revealed that a good chunk of the game’s staff are actually former modders who CD Projekt Red picked up to work on the highly-anticipated sequel.
Sasko made these comments during one of CDPR’s REDstreams on October 21, where the team discussed the bevy of exciting new updates coming to Cyberpunk 2077. As part of this discussion, they explained their decision to introduce cross-platform support for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S, saying this was done both to keep the game fresh and to actively support the creativity of its modders.
In fact, the good folks at CDPR have actually partnered with modders in the game’s community as part of these updates, and even credited them with helping keep the title afloat.
“The modding community is really keeping the game alive,” Sasko said. “I’m very often looking at what our modders are doing, what they’re building. It’s very exciting. There’s so much creativity. We as a studio always try to support our modding community as much as we can.”
Adding onto this discussion, Sasko revealed that CDPR has sourced quite a few of its staff working on Cyberpunk 2 from the game’s modding scene, saying that around half of its quest team — designers who create a game’s objectives and storyline segments — are former modders.
“A lot of modders, they were players who actually first played and actually got experience with customizing the game with the mods,” he said. “For me, this is a foot-in-the-door technique, and a gateway into game dev,” he continues. “You can see, and you can learn how things are made, how things can be built. We actually hired so many modders. I would say, at this point, half of the quest team is all former modders.”
While this isn’t a completely new revelation as far as CDPR is concerned (Sasko actually revealed this information back in 2024), it certainly couldn’t come at a funnier time, given the ongoing discussion around the differing sentiments toward community patches, mods, and emulation happening between Western players and Japanese fans on social media right now.
It’s an exciting era for Cyberpunk chooms; Edgerunners 2 just released on Netflix to rave reviews, alongside a host of new additions to the actual game, which include a dual-wielding playstyle, fresh cyberware customization options, and even a mode that gives you a tour through Night City, on top of cute references to the anime spinoff.
You can read our review for Edgerunners 2 here, as well as our interviews with producer Bartozs Szytbor, who told us all about Roman’s backstory and why the show’s ending wasn’t what audiences anticipated.
Returning to Cyberpunk 2077 or playing it for the first time? We’ve got a new and improved Cyberpunk interactive map to help you find every mission, Iconic item, and collectible in the game. Plus, we’ve also got a full walkthrough for the base game, a Phantom Liberty walkthrough, and an overview of all the Cyberpunk 2077 endings so you don’t make a choice you regret. And we can’t ignore the various romance options you can smooch, which also impact how V’s story concludes.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.