CD Projekt Red Senior Experience Designer Appears To Mock Gamer Over Concerns That 'The Witcher 4' Will Push DEI Agenda
Max Osipovsky, a Senior Experience Designer at The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red, appeared to mock a gamer expressing concern that The Witcher 4 will push a DEI agenda.
X user Raven Raynefall shared her concern that The Witcher 4 will be infected with the DEI agenda in reaction to an IGN post declaring that “The Witcher 4 has entered full-scale production.”
She wrote, “I'm not excited over it and The Witcher series is one of my favorite game series. Cd Project Red is too deep into dei/esg bullshit.”
Osipovsky reacted to Raynefall’s post with a hand over mouth and clown emoji.
READ: Xbox And Obsidian's 'Avowed' Promoted With Disordered LGBTQ+ Tag On Steam
Raynefall reacted writing, “Wow, that's very professional of you. You know I'm a costumer and more than that a fan of The Witcher series? And you're a Senior Experience Designer for CD Projekt Red ?? Are you sexist too? Telling a woman to shut up & calling her a clown?”
Osipovsky replied, “immediate allegations along with miosinterpreting. just wow!”
In response to another user, Osipovsky wrote, “I'm sorry, I'm not going to engage in this conversation further. No matter what I say, it will be misinterpreted to prove whatever point you'd like to prove. Assuming that everyone should immediately know one's gender on the web and make an attack based on that is simply wrong.”
READ: 'Unknown 9: Awakening' Casting Director Is A Woke DEI Activist!
Osipovsky’s comments are the latest in a string of debacles indicating that Raynefall’s concerns are valid.
Infamously, CD Projekt Red’s CEO Michael Nowakowski attempted to humiliate YouTuber Endymion, but ended up revealing he’s nothing more than a liar.
In a video upload, Endymion alleged that an inside source him “that CD Projekt Red is in absolute chaos right now based on who actually is stil working there that used to work on the previous games.”
He added, “Apparently lots of senior talent has already left CD Projekt Red. For example, the director of Witcher 3 has long left the studio. And they’ve already created their own studio with their own new game as well. Apparently, places like Warhorse Studios, the makers of Kingdom Deliverance, they have actually been poaching talent from CD Projekt Red like crazy these past few years.”
Endymion also noted in the video, “I was told that problems that are plaguing Ubisoft like diversity hires are also starting to damage and ruin CD Projekt Red as well. According to that other source, CD Projekt has begun to rely heavily on outsourcing to contractors to help with their games because the new talent that they have is nowhere near where they need them to be right now.”
“I was told the reason why the next Witcher is using Unreal Engine instead of the Red Engine that previous games did is largely because most of the senior talent that worked and understood the Red Engine are not at CD anymore and Unreal is more of a one size fits all engine that many devs are familiar with these days,” he added.
Endymion then reiterated, “As I am told, CD Projekt Red right now is a very tough spot and they’re apparently hoping that their pedigree is going to carry these games to millions in sales.”
READ: Elon Musk Reacts To Xbox's Upcoming 'Avowed' Featuring Pronouns: "Utterly Unacceptable"
In response to this Nowakowski posted on X, “Seems we live in times where anyone can record complete nonsense and make a story out of it. CDPR talent leaving? We have the lowest rotation of people in recent years.”
He continued, “DEI-driven recruitment? We hire based on merit and talent alone, just as we make games driven by artistic vision alone.”
Next, he addressed why CD Projekt Red was working with Unreal, “Why did we choose UE? Because it enables us to work on our games more efficiently and we remain cutting edge tech-wise.”
He then admitted that Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of The Witcher 3 did leave the company, “The Witcher 3’s director left? Well, yeah, more than 2 years ago… Now, can we stop looking for conspiracy theories and go back to making cool stuff?”
First off, a ton of talent had left CD Projekt Red. LegacyKillaHD had previously detailed that at least 11 directors and department leads had left the company back in 2021 following the release of Cyberpunk 2077.
That talent included Studio Head and Executive Producer John Mamais, The Witcher 3 Game Director Konrad Tomaskiewicz, The Witcher 3 Quest Director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, Cinematic Director Pawel Swierczynski, Head of Production Piotr Krzywonosiuk, Principal Engine Programmer Balazs Torok, Lead Animator Jamie Bury, Creative Director Sebastian Stepien, Senior Producer Dominika Gonsierowska, Engine Director Tomasz Jonarski, and Art Director Katarzyna Redesiuk.
The company also does recruited based on DEI initiatives as well. The company’s Diversity & Inclusion page on its website states, “Our purpose is to create revolutionary role-playing games with memorable stories that inspire gamers. We can only deliver on these goals and promises with an amazing, passionate team whose talents and professional skills reflect the breadth of experience in the world. A diverse and inclusive work environment boosts creativity and innovation, which is exactly what we need in order to push the limits of technology and storytelling.”
The company also engages in “Equitable Practices” a far cry from Nowakowski’s claim that it hires based on merit and talent.
The page states, “We’re not afraid to stand for what we believe in. By implementing inclusive benefits and creating a space where everyone can be themselves, we create a positive example for other companies and help effect positive social change.”
It adds, “Healthy teams are ones where all team members feel good, valued, and safe — and these are the teams we want to empower inside RED by introducing various initiatives.”
In fact, one of the initiatives is The Diversity Charter. CD Projekt Red explains, “We’re among the companies that signed the Diversity Charter (Karta Różnorodności), a document committing to non-discrimination in the workplace as well as to the introduction of policies that create and promote diversity. We were also listed as one of the top employers in Poland in terms of managing diversity and inclusion.”
Furthermore, the company also boasts that it is “committed to promoting social change and being an example of it. All of our efforts aimed at meeting this goal can be found here.”
One of the initiatives also includes a scholarship program that excludes men from participating through a partnership with Girls in the Game!
Furthermore, Endymion did an entire response video covering much of the above, but he also addressed the Unreal Engine comments. He shared a clip from a podcast where the co-founder of War Horse Studios Daniel Vávra stated, “And now, CD Projekt just switched to Unreal. Even though, in my opinion, they had a good proprietary engine. Well, and I’ve heard rumors that now they’re quite like… Well, I talked to someone whose name I obviously can’t say. And I said to him, so what about Unreal? ‘Great, we already have pieces done, like some landscapes.’ And I said, ‘Well, what about in open world?’ ‘Not yet.’”
“When did they announce it? A year, two ago, and still it doesn’t work as good as their old engine,” Vávra added.
What do you make of Osipovsky’s comments? Become a paid member to leave a comment and support our journalism.