CD Projekt boss pushes back on 'conspiracy theories' against diversity in gaming: 'We live in times where anyone can record complete nonsense and make a story out of it'
CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski has issued a strongly worded response to accusations that the studio "is in a lot of trouble right now" because of "diversity hires," saying the people peddling such nonsense need to "stop looking for conspiracy theories."
"Seems we live in times where anyone can record complete nonsense and make a story out of it," Nowakowski said in response to a post on X by YouTuber Endymion, who has a long history of stridently complaining about diversity and "wokeness" in videogames.
"CDPR talent leaving? We have the lowest rotation of people in recent years. DEI-driven recruitment? We hire based on merit and talent alone, just as we make games driven by artistic vision alone. Why did we choose [Unreal Engine]? Because it enables us to work on our games more efficiently and we remain cutting edge tech-wise. 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?"
It's worth noting, as a positive, that CD Projekt does make a point of embracing diversity initiatives despite Nowakowski's "on merit and talent alone" comment. The company is a signatory to the Diversity Charter in Poland, "a document committing to non-discrimination in the workplace as well as to the introduction of policies that create and promote diversity." In 2023 it earned recognition from the 30% Club, an organization "aiming to boost the number of women in board seats and executive leadership of companies all over the world," for its menstrual leave initiative. It also created a mentoring and scholarship program called Girls in the Game!, which helps girls in high school "take their first steps in the videogame industry."
I'm not a corporate cheerleader by nature, but to be perfectly, unmistakably clear, these and other related programs are good things for games and the videogame industry, and CD Projekt leadership deserves credit for making no bones about that fact in public-facing statements.
"Our mission is to create revolutionary games for players around the world and this is WHY we need to empower the potential of our teams," CD Projekt chief strategy officer Adam Kiciński says in a message shared on the studio's Diversity and Inclusion page. "A diversity of perspectives unlocks creativity and increases innovation."
It's pleasing to see pushback from industry executives on this kind of ridiculous nonsense and quite frankly I'd like to see a lot more of it, but I do have to wonder what led to the accusations in the first place. CD Projekt made one of the most-loved RPGs of all time, and when it subsequently dropped one of the most infamous bombs of all time it spent years turning it around into what is quite possibly the best-known videogame redemption arc of all time. Now it's got multiple highly-anticipated projects in the works across studios around the world. Where is the imagined negative impact of diverse hiring, much less "dire trouble?" Only, I am quite sure, in perpetually aggrieved imaginations.