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Cyberpunk 2077 game director & other CDPR alumni open Blank game studio

Mateusz Kanik unveiled the new Blank studio alongside a crew of fellow previous Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 producers and developers.

TJ Denzer

May 31, 2023 9:50 AM

Image via Blank

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Cyberpunk 2077 game director and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt co-director Mateusz Kanik has joined a number of additional CD Projekt and further studio developers in launching their own new studio, Blank. The studio was unveiled by Kanik and crew today and it was announced that alongside hiring, Blank is also beginning work on a new IP: a character-driven adventure game in an apocalyptic setting.

The opening of the Blank studio was officially announced on May 31, 2023, alongside the launching of the studio’s website. Blank is comprised of a wealth of individuals that worked on games like The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 alongside founder and game director Mateusz Kanik. Joining him are executive producers Jędrzej Mróz (CD Projekt Red) and Marcin Jefimow (CD Projekt Red, 11 Bit Studios), managing director Mikołaj Marchewka (Rookiez from Warsaw S.A), design director Michal Dobrowolski (CD Projekt Red), narrative director Artur Ganszyniec (CD Projekt Red, 11 Bit Studios), and art director Grzegorz Przybyś (Division 48 Studio, Artificer).

The philosophy behind Blank studio is literally a blank slate for a lot of devs that have collectively worked on years’ worth of AAA game development. The crew also aims to bring creative ownership of its projects back under its control and develop highly-polished, quality titles over quantity and meeting difficult deadlines, as shared by Kanik in a statement:

Blank is one of several studios to have spun off from CD Projekt as leads and veterans head out from the Cyberpunk developer to work on their own projects. Secondary Cyberpunk 2077 director and Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz formed Rebel Wolves in February 2022, and other CD Projekt devs later split off to launch Dark Passenger under CEO Jakob Ben in August 2022.

With Blank now announced and working on its own new project, it will be interesting to see what comes of these many new studios in the years ahead. Stay tuned for more information and announcements as they become available, right here at Shacknews.

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.