Acquisitions are becoming more and more common in the games industry, but Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red is happy to stay independent.
Over the past few years, several companies have been throwing their money around when it comes to acquisitions, from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, to the plethora of studios Embracer Group has picked up (and later shut down). However, in an interview with Parkiet, former CD Projekt Red CEO and current Chief Strategy Officer Adam Kiciński touched on recurring rumours that the studio was looking to be acquired (as translated by VGC).
“These are just rumours. We have always had a clear position, supported by the regulations included in the statute,” Kiciński said. “We are not interested in being included in any larger entity. We have worked our whole lives to get to the position we have now. And we believe that in a few years we will be even bigger and stronger. We have ambitious plans and we are passionate about what we do. We value our independence.”
You can also rule out CD Projekt Red making any kind of acquisitions itself, as Kiciński went on to say “We do not plan any acquisitions at this time. Of course, we are open to ideas that could accelerate the implementation of our strategy. But we are not interested in purchases that would only aim to include the acquired companies in our group and consolidate their financial results. We don’t see the value in it.”
It’s a reassuring sentiment, both in terms of not wanting to be acquired and not wanting to acquire anything itself. Seeing all of this corporate consolidation has been a bit of a bummer, to put it very lightly and politely, as it just makes the industry a bit too uniform (not to mention certain companies having all too much control over how the industry progresses). At least whenever The Witcher 4 rocks up we don’t have to worry about someone like Sony making it have live service elements.