AnsweRED Podcast — An Official Podcast by CD PROJEKT RED

Launched in November 2023, our podcast is dedicated to game developers and like-minded individuals, offering a unique platform to gain insights from CD PROJEKT RED team members. It’s a deep dive into our culture and craftsmanship, offering a chance to hear from the people behind our games — from production and programming to art and narrative. We also invite game dev experts from around the world to foster inspiring discussions and diverse viewpoints.

Our hosts, Sebastian Kalemba, VP and Game Director of The Witcher 4, and Paweł Burza, Senior Communication Manager, take you behind the scenes of game development. In each episode, they sit down with top experts from CD PROJEKT RED and special guests from the industry to uncover the secrets, challenges, and creative processes that shape the world of video games.

So far the AnsweRED Podcast has 15 episodes, and here we’ve put together a handy list of all of them so you can check them out while you wait for the next one!

Be sure to keep an eye on the blog for updates on upcoming episodes as they release.

Tune in to your favorite episode:

Episode 15: Producer Magdalena Rudnicka and Writer/Director Tomek Suwalski from Platige Image take us behind the scenes of The Witcher 4 trailer — its inspirations, the creative process, and how our collaboration brought it to life.

Episode 14: Acting Lead Producer Anna Kalinowska and VP & Executive Producer Małgorzata Mitręga break down the realities of game production — how to manage chaos without stifling creativity, the different stages of development, and the art of navigating them as a producer. 

Episode 13: Freelance Concept Artist and Art Director Björn Hurri, alongside Illustrator Grzegorz Rutkowski, discuss their careers, the challenges and rewards of freelancing, and the evolving role of AI in the art industry. 

Episode 12: Polish-Canadian 2D Animator Tina Nawrocki, best known for her work on Cuphead, shares her journey through the world of animation and her passion project — a short film about Warsaw’s legendary mermaid. 

Episode 11: Concept Artists Karla Ortiz and Even Amundsen share insights from their work on projects ranging from Marvel movies to tabletop games. They also discuss the pros and cons of freelancing versus working in-house, offering a candid look at life as a professional artist in the entertainment industry.

Episode 10: Promised Land Art Festival Directors Paweł Mielniczuk and Małgorzata Sawnor reveal the vision behind 2024’s edition of PLAF, the journey of shaping an event that unites artists from around the world, and what the future holds for the festival.

Episode 9: Patrick Mills, Franchise Content Strategy Lead and Cian Maher, Franchise & Lore Designer, dive into the origins of CD PROJEKT RED’s Franchise and Lore team, the diverse backgrounds that shape their work, and the deep knowledge of The Witcher universe within the team — rivaling even that of Andrzej Sapkowski himself. 

Episode 8: Senior Composer-Coordinator P.T. Adamczyk and Lead Sound Designer Mateusz Szymański pull back the curtain on the magic of game audio — how the sounds of GWENT, The Witcher, and Cyberpunk 2077 were crafted, the creative process behind music and sound design, and career advice for aspiring audio professionals in game dev.

Episode 7: Associate Game Director Paweł Sasko and Acting Executive Producer Dan Hernberg share their vision for CD PROJEKT RED’s Boston hub, the journey of establishing Project Orion in Boston, and their approach to leadership. 

Episode 6: Art Directors Paweł Mielniczuk and Lucjan Więcek explore the dynamic relationship between story and visuals, the inspirations that fuel their creativity, and why leading an art team is a lot like conducting an orchestra.

Episode 5: Localization Director Mikołaj Szwed and English Adaptation Director Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz break down the fine line between translation, adaptation, and localization. 

Episode 4: Jane Perry, the voice of Rogue, and Minji Chang, the voice of Songbird in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, share their journeys into the world of voice acting, the unique challenges of bringing game characters to life, and the roles that resonate with them the most.

Episode 3: Comic Book and Animation Narrative Director Bartosz Sztybor and VP of Business Development Jan Rosner take a deep dive into the art of collaboration — how partnerships are formed, what makes a dream project come to life, and why bold decisions matter. 

Episode 2: Lead Quest Designer Błażej Augustynek and Narrative Director Philipp Weber explore the craft of designing morally gray choices, the journey of a quest from concept to implementation, and whether the team envisioned V as male or female when developing the story.

Episode 1: Story Directors Marcin Blacha and Tomasz Marchewka discuss the role of storytelling in game development, the collaboration between writers and other teams, and the importance of a strong narrative in the process.

Don’t miss out! We release new episodes of AnsweRED Podcast every fourth Thursday of the month, and the next one drops on March 27th. Tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube and be part of the conversation with our dev team and special guests. Enjoy watching and listening!