A CD Projekt Red executive mocked fellow publisher Ubisoft and its failed attempt to classify Skull and Bones as an “AAAA” game.
AAA is usually a label given to blockbuster games by companies with deep pockets to indicate that these games were expensive to make. The label is usually meaningless. At best, it gives us an idea of the game's budget. At worst, it's marketing language used to convince potential customers that high production values make a good game.
Ubisoft tried a similar trick when it launched its multiplayer pirate ship called Skull and Bones earlier this year. CEO Yves Guillemot previously described the endlessly delayed game as an “AAAA” release to justify its $70 price – an argument that beta players strongly disagreed with.
The theme of continuous growth also came up in the last fiscal Chat questions and answers With CD Projekt Red Investor Relations VP Karolina Gnaś. One question was jokingly asked if The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 studio would reevaluate its stance on AAA alone amid Ubisoft's comments. “We will have AAAAA,” Gnaś replied.
Video game budgets became unsustainable, and thus the AAA arms race officially began. Skull and Bones was the first AAAA game in history. CD Projekt Red dares to release the world's first AAAAA game with The Witcher 4 and its Cyberpunk sequel. Who will take over, write the check, and dare to develop the AAAAAAA game first?
In more serious news, the publisher also shared that The Witcher 4 will introduce “new gameplay elements and mechanics” that did not appear in the original trilogy. We don't have a lot of information about the upcoming RPG yet – even its name is unconfirmed – although CDPR won't be replacing developers with AI to make the sequel.
our Skull and Bones Review He said it was “a lot of grinding for very little reward.”
“Web specialist. Lifelong zombie maven. Coffee ninja. Hipster-friendly analyst.”
