Changing the Game: A Leader's Perspective on CD PROJEKT RED'S Transformation | D.I.C.E. Summit 2024

Gabe Amatangelo, Game Director of the acclaimed Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion, shares his unique perspective on leading a team during the turbulent period that accompanies a studio-wide transformation.

As CD PROJEKT RED reconfigured its development policies and production framework, Gabe was tasked with juggling simultaneous tasks: reconfiguring teams to a new, Agile methodology while supporting Cyberpunk 2077, developing the expansion, and most critically, overhauling virtually all of the base game’s systems and releasing Update 2.0 ahead of Phantom Liberty.

Gabe highlights the most important focus areas and successes that allowed CD PROJEKT RED to literally change the game and inject both Cyberpunk 2077 and the studio with fresh energy and momentum.

Key takeaways include common pain points that can come up during such a comprehensive overhaul and how to successfully tackle them; how to create buy-in from employees; how studios and companies can leverage past challenges to create new paths and possibilities; and how to ensure a company retains its personality while also building new management and work styles from the ground up. To learn more about the Annual D.I.C.E. Summit, go to https://www.dicesummit.org/