BioWare’s former senior creative director Mike Laidlaw made headlines in October 2017 when he announced that he would be leaving the company after 14 years. Laidlaw had been a key figure on the Dragon Age development team and so many fans were eager to see what the developer would be getting up to next.
In a new interview during The Game Informer Show podcast, Laidlaw discussed his post-BioWare plans, explaining that he is currently doing some consultant work. With that in mind, the podcast’s host wanted to know how Laidlaw would respond if Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt RED approached him about his consulting work.
Acknowledging that it would “raise an eyebrow” if he did take up an offer to work on Cyberpunk 2077, the developer also referred to himself as a “giant Cyberpunk nerd straight up, Neuromancer is my favorite novel of all time. Like, William Gibson could write on the stall of a bathroom and I would make a small pilgrimage there.”
Laidlaw reveals that whenever he has run into CD Projekt RED developers at conventions, they are always complimentary about each other’s games. The developer also notes that “CD Projekt RED licensed from Bioware the Aurora engine, which was the Neverwinter Nights engine, to do The Witcher one” and says that the diversity within the RPG genre (between games like Dragon Age, The Witcher, and Skyrim) is beneficial to the industry.
Laidlaw is clearly a fan of the developer, however, “For the most part, moving to Poland and moving my family, and that kind of stuff, would be exceptionally challenging” which may rule out any serious involvement in the game.
Undoubtedly, many fans will be disappointed that distance prevents Laidlaw from getting properly involved with Cyberpunk 2077’s development. CD Projekt RED has confirmed that it wants to make Cyberpunk 2077 a franchise and fans will argue that Laidlaw could help to turn the game into a blossoming series. Laidlaw was part of BioWare through Dragon Age’s teething issues and the backlash to Dragon Age 2 which some fans said failed to properly build on Dragon Age: Origins’ potential.
Laidlaw could even offer some advice on how CD Projekt RED could approach Cyberpunk 2077’s online multiplayer features since Dragon Age: Inquisition includes co-op multiplayer. Making sure the core, single-player gameplay is entertaining and then adding a multiplayer layer to it could be challenging, but perhaps Laidlaw could offer some pointers.
Cyberpunk 2077 is currently in development. A release date and release platforms have not been announced.
Source: Game Informer - YouTube
