Marcin Iwinski, the CEO of CD Projekt Red, explains that he considers the biggest competition and best RPG developers to be Rockstar, Blizzard, and Bethesda.
Determining the best RPG developers out there is no easy feat, though perhaps it’s easier when the person assembling the list is the head of a competing RPG development company. Such is the case with the CEO of CD Projekt Red, who has publicly declared what he considers to be the top three RPG developers around today.Speaking in an interview at InfoShare 2016, Marcin Iwinski, CEO of CD Projekt Red, discussed his company’s attempts to become one of the very best RPG developers. Iwinski is proud of his company’s latest effort, The Witcher 3, and explained that the last five years of work at CD Projekt Red have been aiming to become one of the top RPG developers. When asked about what he considered the top three RPG developers to be – other than his own company – Iwinski declared Rockstar, Blizzard, and Bethesda as the three to beat.
Most gamers and developers would probably agree that Iwinski’s three picks at least deserve spots near the top. Blizzard’s long been considered the leader of MMORPGs with World of Warcraft, Rockstar has been behind the best-selling Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, and of course Bethesda is responsible for the outstanding Fallout and Elder Scrolls series.
Most would probably also agree that The Witcher 3 has earned CD Projekt Red a spot among these legendary developers. After all, The Witcher 3 has received numerous awards, even bumping Fallout 4 to net the coveted Game Developers Choice Best Game of the Year. With CD Projekt Red’s upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 aiming to be even more ambitious following The Witcher 3‘s success, chances are CD Projekt Red will only continue to rise among the ranks.
Even so, some gamers may feel that a few RPG developers have been overlooked on Iwinski’s list. Square Enix, the developer behind the massive JRPGs of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy and a myriad of others wasn’t mentioned, nor was BioWare, which is responsible for major series hits like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. However, Iwinski did seem to hesitate slightly while answering the question, so maybe he had other developers on his mind that just couldn’t fit in a top three selection.
In any case, CD Projekt Red has definitely come a long way since its inception, and the latest chapter of The Witcher series has earned enormous praise from nearly every gamer and critic out there. Whether one uses overall sales, storytelling, or gameplay as the deciding factor in choosing the very best RPG developers, chances are CD Projekt Red will earn a spot on most gamers’ lists.
Gamers, which RPG developers rank in the top 3 in your book? Let us know in the comments.