Update: Adam Badowski, head of studios at CD Projekt Red, posted a message on Twitter, acknowledging the additional work required for the release of Cyberpunk 2077. He said that mandating overtime was "one of the hardest decisions" he had ever had to make, but gave several good reasons. The "majority" of the team understands the need for overtime, he said, and team members "are well compensated for every hour they work overtime." Budowsky also notes that 10% of the company's annual profits are shared with employees.

Original CD Project Red employees will work six days a week in anticipation of the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, Bloomberg reported; according to internal emails viewed by Bloomberg, this tight period will be spent troubleshooting bugs.

In the email, CD Projekt Red studio boss Adam Budowski wrote that studio staff will have to handle "a normal workload and one weekend day." This is despite co-founder Marcin Iwiński stating last year that the company would adhere to a "non-obligatory crunch policy" in the late stages of Cyberpunk 2077's development. At the time, Iwiński fell short of committing to eliminating the crunch altogether, and in a January conference call, co-CEO Adam Kiciński said long hours would be required

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"It is my responsibility to face the full repercussions of this decision," Budowski wrote in an internal e-mail. Badowski wrote in an internal e-mail. I am aware that this is in direct conflict with what we have been saying about the crunch. It is also in direct conflict with what I personally came to believe some time ago, that crunch should never be the answer. However, we have taken every possible step to defuse the situation"

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Meanwhile, according to an unnamed CD Projekt Red staffer who spoke to Bloomberg, some workers have been crunching for over a year.

CD Projekt Red was criticized for its crunching practices after reports emerged about the development of The Witcher 3. At the time, Iwiński and Badowski issued a joint statement acknowledging the situation. Even if you personally thought it was already working like a charm. But we believe that reinventing the wheel every time is what makes for a better game."

In Poland, workers are required to be paid for overtime; we have asked CD Projekt Red for comment and will update if we hear back.