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Cyberpunk 2077 Design Lead Andrzej Zawadzki exits CDPR after nearly 8 years

Andrzej Zawadzki had been lending his talents to CD Projekt RED since the launch of the base Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

TJ Denzer

March 22, 2021 9:35 AM

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Over the course of Cyberpunk 2077, for better or for worse, there were quite a few prominent voices in CD Projekt RED that insisted the game was better than people would give it credit for or that it would become what players wanted with time. Senior Game Designer Andrzej Zawadzki was among those voices. A CDPR alum that had been about since the launch of the base game of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Zawadzki’s efforts saw him rise through the studio to become a prominent force on Cyberpunk 2077. Unfortunately, Zawadski won’t be staying to see the Cyberpunk 2077’s fixes through much longer. He recently announced he would be leaving the company.

Andrzej Zawadzki announced his resignation from CD Projekt RED via his personal Twitter on March 22, 2021. From his words, the parting seems like a mutual and unforced decision.

“After almost 8 years, my time at CDPR has come to an end,” Zawadski wrote. “It's time for a new adventure. To every person I've met on the way - thank you. It was an honor and pleasure. See you around.”

After almost 8 years, my time at CDPR has come to an end. It's time for the new adventure.
To every person I've met on the way - thank you :) It was an honor and pleasure.
See you around :) pic.twitter.com/Hts3TE9VzW

— Andrzej Zawadzki (@ZawAndy) March 22, 2021

Zawadzki began as a QA Tester at CD Projekt RED in 2013, according to his history with the company. He aided in work on Witcher 3’s base game and DLC, including Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. In 2016, he rose through the ranks to join the Cyberpunk 2077 as a Junior Game Designer. Throughout the game’s development cycle, Zawadzski would move from that to Specialist Gameplay Designer, RPG Coordinator, Lead Gameplay Designer, and finally Senior Gameplay Designer before his exit in 2021.

As vocal as Zawadzki was about his jovial care of Cyberpunk 2077, it unfortunately could not save the game from a rocky launch. Despite that, Zawadzki remained assured that the game could shape up to be what players wanted it to be. Unfortunately, it will be without him from here on out. Zawadzki’s exit comes just ahead of the Update 1.2 patch coming right around the corner.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see where Zawadzski shows up and if he’s still involved in a high-profile game or studio down the line. Wherever he lands, here’s hoping it means newer, better gaming projects in the future.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.