CD Projekt joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski is “not worried” about the future of consoles, despite rising costs that could impact growth in the sector.
Speaking to The Game Business, Nowakowski said consoles continue to be “necessary to broaden the audience” for casual and semi-casual players. “It’s important to have easy to plug in and enjoy gaming,” he said.
He said consoles will “weather the storm” they are currently facing today, including pricing. Nowakowski also said he’s heard the rumors that the PS6 and next Xbox could be delayed, but he said, “I don’t know if they’re true.”
Generally speaking, Nowakowski said CD Projekt doesn’t spend too much time worrying about how the company reaches people. “Content is the king. And if the content is right, people will find a way to play it,” the executive said.
The developers at CD Projekt would ask for “as much power” as possible to help display games in the best possible light. However, Nowakowski said the developers at CD Projekt are “realistic,” too, so if next-gen consoles get delayed, some ideas that would require new, more powerful hardware might get “put on a shelf for the future.”
“We’d have to adjust. We’re not worried on the commercial side. Consoles are here to stay,” he said.
CD Projekt has multiple games in the works that are likely planned for new consoles, as The Witcher 4 is lined up for release in 2028, with Cyberpunk 2 likely coming sometime after.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have raised hardware prices due to global market factors, including tariffs and the AI-fueled demand for components and memory. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently said it’s “wonderful” that GPUs have use cases outside of gaming, even if it means that Xbox consoles are now more expensive than ever. Nintendo, for its part, has received refunds for President Trump’s tariffs–which were deemed illegal–but said it has no legal requirement to pass along any money to consumers who paid more. Sony, meanwhile, has received gigantic tariff refunds as well, with no plans to pass anything along.
There are rumors that the next wave of new consoles could cost $1,000 or more, and that could have a dramatic, negative effect on the market overall.