Just as Cyberpunk 2077 caused problems at launch, it is surprising to think back to what CD Projekt Red's games were like just 12 years ago. Compared to the gorgeous motion-capture and ray-traced first-person world of Cyberpunk, the first Witcher game is almost comically rudimentary. But it was fun, with a fantasy setting unlike any other RPG I was playing at the time, and the graphical leap with 2011's "The Witcher 2" was nothing short of stunning, and the quality of the side quests in the massive open world of "The Witcher 3" made CD Projekt my favorite RPG developer just four years later. Now that CD Projekt is about to move on to work on the sequel to "Cyberpunk 2077," I'm thinking about its progress.

"Think of The Witcher games. We want to achieve the same kind of evolution here," said scenario director Igor Sarzynski in a recent interview with PC Gamer.

What does that mean for a studio that has gone from scrappy, idealistic RPG developer to one of the titans of the gaming industry? CD Projekt has already proven that it can make amazing-looking games; 2011's "The Witcher 2" is already one of the best-looking games on the planet. One of the best-looking video games on the planet, it also showed glimpses of the narrative ambition that CDPR will truly deliver in The Witcher 3. The story of "The Witcher 2" diverges into two completely different paths in the middle of the game. And CD Projekt knows all about open worlds. Where do you go from there?

"'Cyberpunk 2077' was our first foray into the futuristic sci-fi world, with a major overhaul of gameplay mechanics, narrative tone, theme, and art direction. Several things worked right out of the box, including art, city design, music, interactive scene systems, and play styles." We had a lot to work with: character progression, NPC interactivity, optimization, and so on. That's to be expected; it's impossible to get everything perfect on the first try. Now that all the game elements have been iterated and work well, we will focus on connecting them more tightly together to create a coherent and fully immersive experience."

"Phantom Liberty" and the 2.0 patch seem to be a clear first step toward what Szajinski calls evolution, with an entirely new vehicle combat, plus a major overhaul of the player skill tree, loot system, and police AI. Phantom Liberty also adds new perks that add superpowers to existing skills.

Throughout the three Witcher games, it is hard to believe that CD Projekt has created truly great combat. Cyberpunk 2.0 may be the first game in which the studio really delivers on that, with innately satisfying firefights and a large number of sci-fi abilities that meaningfully change the way you engage in combat. It is an exciting thought to see what a sequel might introduce.

That said, it's the world CD Projekt still has to struggle with the most. NPC interactivity" is the key word in Sarzyński's answer. While updates over many patches, such as fixing bugs and making the police more dynamic, have made Night City more alive, there is still a clear gap between cyberpunk 2077 and rockstar open worlds such as Red Dead Redemption 2 ... Night City is pretty, but the main way to interact outside of missions is to buy stuff and help cops.

But if the Witcher analogy holds up, I can't wait to see how ambitious CD Projekt is to complete a second game in the cyberpunk world.