AnsweRED Podcast by CD PROJEKT RED

Five years of REDstreams, countless conversations with players, and moments that have stayed with us along the way — behind it all is a Community team driven by the same passion for games as the people they connect with. In the 32nd episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts — Tabletop Games Manager Paweł Burza and Art Director for Project Hadar Paweł Mielniczuk — sit down with Expert Community and Social Media Manager Amelia Korzycka and Global Community and Social Media Director Marcin Momot to take us behind the scenes of community management at CD PROJEKT RED.

How do you build a culture and grow talent across continents? How do you carve out genuine space for diverse perspectives? And how do you keep teams deeply connected when they’re thousands of kilometers apart? In the 31st episode of AnsweRED Podcast, we dive into these questions to explore what it really takes to lead international teams and build a culture that grows with them. Joining our hosts — Senior Communication Manager Paweł Burza and Art Director for Project Hadar Paweł Mielniczuk — are Chief People Officer and Board Member Karolina Radziszewska and VP, Head of People Strategy and Operations, Marta Fortuna. Tune in as they discuss the role of People & Culture in the game dev industry, how they support leadership growth, the value of diverse perspectives, women building careers in game development, and fostering connections between our Warsaw and Boston teams.

You see a mountain in the distance and decide to explore it. Or spot a neon-lit alley in Night City and suddenly abandon your original destination. Then you discover something interesting exactly where your curiosity led you. That's not luck. That's level design. In the 30th episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Paweł Burza, Senior Communication Manager, and Paweł Mielniczuk, Art Director of Project Hadar, welcome our Senior Level Designer, Marta Dobińska and our Level Design Lead, Miles Tost, for a conversation about shaping level design at CD PROJEKT RED.

Recording mocap sessions at CDPR means learning how to swim on ropes, work with horses, and get used to wearing those strange sensor-covered suits. Just another normal day in the world of game development! The 29th episode of AnsweRED Podcast is live, and our hosts Paweł Burza, Senior Communication Manager, and Paweł Mielniczuk, Art Director of Project Hadar, invite you behind the scenes of motion capture reality. Together with our Producer, Paulina Lendzion, and Motion Capture Lead, Tomasz Kowalczyk, discover what really happens on a mocap stage.

You find a bug in the game and then what? In the 28th episode of AnsweRED Podcast, Narrative QA Lead Monika Rokita and Associate QA Director Piotr Tyszko share their perspective on QA — whether it’s only about finding bugs, how to adapt to a project’s various phases, whether the bloopers library is something real, and much more!

What happens when behavioral and cognitive psychology meet the game development process? In the 27th episode of AnsweRED Podcast, Joshua Marchand, our UX Research Lead and Dawid Zalewski, Research Operations Coordinator/Senior UX Researcher, dive deep into UX research processes and their role in bringing player feedback into development.

Game animation is where technology, design, and emotions meet. In Episode 26 of AnsweRED Podcast, Dominika Staniaszek and Maciej Pietras share their perspective on gameplay vs cinematic animation, open-world challenges, and the skills every great animator needs.

In the 25th episode of AnsweRED Podcast, together with Natalia Kosonowska, Senior Character Artist, and Marcin Klicki, Character Art Acting Lead, we discover the world of character and monster artists. If you’re interested in the monsters that defined The Witcher, how fashion can be used in worldbuilding, or the importance of creative responsibility and trust in game development, this is definitely something for you!

In the 24th episode of AnsweRED Podcast, together with Anna Fronckiel, our Recruitment & Employer Branding Director, and Paweł Mielniczuk, Art Director of Project Hadar, our hosts, Sebastian and Paweł explore all sides of recruitment — from building teams and nurturing creative talent, to fostering the culture that keeps RED thriving. Tune in to discover what we look for in candidates, what to avoid during the recruitment process, what defines culture at RED and many more!

In the 23rd episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza welcome Tomasz Radziewicz — a sculptor whose art bridges the worlds of fine art, games, and storytelling. Beyond the world of monuments, Tomasz has brought his artistry into the realm of games and film, working with CD PROJEKT RED and Platige Image on projects that merge craftsmanship with imagination. They discuss the relationship between the sculptor and their material, what Tomasz’s creative process looks like, the differences between digital vs manual modeling, and much more!

In Episode 22 of AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Paweł Burza and Sebastian Kalemba are joined by Pav Grochola, FX and Look of Picture Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Perhaps best known for his work on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse series, Pav shares what it means to bring a bold artistic vision to life, his path into FX, what his job really involves, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

In the 21st episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Paweł Burza and Sebastian Kalemba are joined by Ari Arnbjörnsson, Senior Software Engineer, Developer Relations at Epic Games, known for his boundless energy and ability to connect complex technology with everyday creative challenges.

In the 20th episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Paweł Burza and Sebastian Kalemba are joined by Daniel Martínez Lara, Director of Pepe School Land, a unique animation school based in Barcelona.They talk about the power of small-scale teaching, the importance of creative freedom, and how designing tools with artists in mind can reshape entire workflows. Dive deep into the future of 3D animation, Pepe School Land’s origins, advice for aspiring animators and many more!

In the 19th episode of AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by Alyssa Zarate, Art Director & Environment Supervisor, and Albert Szostkiewicz, VFX Supervisor. They talked about the craft, creativity, and complexity behind visual effects — both in games and film.

In our special The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10th anniversary episode of AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of CD PROJEKT RED and Adam Badowski, Joint CEO and long-time creative force behind our games. On a sentimental journey back to the Continent, they discuss the most challenging aspects of production, how The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt inspired future projects, the make-or-break moments, what makes Adam and Marcin proud 10 years after the premiere, and much more!

In the 17th episode of AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza, are joined by Alena Dubrovina, Art Director at Larian Studios and Émilie Beauchamp, Associate Art Director at WB Games Montréal. Not only did we hear about their professional experience working on projects like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Gotham Knights, but also about the role of an Art Director in the game dev industry.

In the 16th episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by our Environment Art Director, Michał Janiszewski and Engineering Production Manager (Acting), Jan Hermanowicz. They will take you behind the scenes of what it really takes to create immersive, believable game worlds.

The 15th episode of AnsweRED Podcast is dedicated to the collaboration between CDPR and Platige Image on the making of The Witcher 4 trailer. Our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by guests from Platige — Producer Magdalena Rudnicka and Writer/Director Tomek Suwalski. In this episode, we dive into the inspiration behind The Witcher 4 trailer, how the collaboration between the studios worked, our guests’ favorite moments, and much more!

Dive into the latest episode of the AnsweRED Podcast! Another episode from Promised Land Art Festival, where Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza hosted Björn Hurri, freelance Concept Artist/Art Director and Grzegorz Rutkowski, freelance Illustrator. Both artists shared their professional experience, opinions on using AI in the art industry, and advice for those developing their own style.

Dive into the latest episode of the AnsweRED Podcast! This one comes from Promised Land Art Festival, where Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza hosted a special guest, Polish-Canadian 2D animator Tina Nawrocki. Best known for her stunning work on “Cuphead”, Tina is a passionate advocate for 2D animation in a world where 3D rules. Not only has she lent her work to video games, but she is also currently working on her very first short film — all about Warsaw’s iconic mermaid. Learn all about that and more in this episode!

The 11th episode of the AnsweRED Podcast just dropped! This time, we met again at Promised Land Art Festival with our unstoppable hosts, Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza, who were joined by Concept Artist Karla Ortiz and Concept Artist/Illustrator Even Amundsen. Not only did we hear about their professional experience working on projects like Marvel movies or tabletop games, but also about the perks of freelancing versus working in-house and much more.

The AnsweRED podcast moved to Łódź for the one and only Promised Land Art Festival! We’ve lined up a special series of episodes to spotlight the incredible talents attending this event. But what better way to kick things off than by chatting with the visionaries who brought this festival to life? Welcome to the 10th episode, featuring our Festival Directors — Paweł Mielniczuk, Małgorzata Sawnor, and Sebastian Kalemba, who’s both our guest and host this time! They all sat down with Paweł Burza to dive into the inspiring

IIn the ninth episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza, are joined by our experts Patrick Mills, Franchise Content Strategy Lead, and Cian Maher, Franchise & Lore Designer. In this episode, we dive into how our Franchise and Lore team came together and explore the diverse backgrounds of our members. Discover which team member knows The Witcher almost as well as Andrzej Sapkowski, who initially struggled with The Witcher 2 but eventually came back to it, and what it’s like to work with Mike Pondsmith. Plus, we’ve got plenty more insights and passion to share!

In the eight episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza, are joined by P.T. Adamczyk, Senior Composer - Coordinator and Mateusz Szymański, Lead Sound Designer. This episode is packed with insights into the composing and sound design process, including a look at how we made the sounds for GWENT, The Witcher, and Cyberpunk 2077, career tips for those aspiring to work in game dev, conversations about the creative process, and much, much more!

In the seventh episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza, are joined by Paweł Sasko, our Associate Game Director and Dan Hernberg, Acting Executive Producer. This episode is packed with insights, advice, and much more, including conversations about differences in communication styles between Americans and Poles, setting up Project Orion in Boston, book recommendations, and much more!

In the sixth episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by our Art Directors Paweł Mielniczuk and Lucjan Więcek. Our hosts sat down with Paweł and Lucjan to discuss what comes first: story or art, what are their sources of inspiration, how is an Art Director similar to an orchestra conductor, how do they balance the real world with the world of fantasy, what is the significance of the Promised Land Art Festival and our commitment to unity in art, and much more.

In the fifth episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by English Adaptation Director Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz and Localization Director Mikołaj Szwed. Our hosts sat down with Borys and Mikołaj to discuss what separates adaptation and localization from translation, how they created the language of Cyberpunk 2077, their thought processes during casting and recording, and much more.

In the fourth episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by two special guests: Jane Perry, the voice of Rogue, and Minji Chang, who brings Songbird to life in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Our hosts sat down with Jane and Minji to discover how they got their start in the industry, what makes voice acting for games different from acting in other projects, and which characters they feel the most connected to. Our guests also shared insights into their time recording lines for Cyberpunk 2077, how they developed the characters, and much more!

In the third episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts, Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza, are joined by Comic Book and Animation Narrative Director Bartosz Sztybor and VP of Business Development Jan Rosner to venture into the land of business development and franchises! This episode is packed with inspiring thoughts on collaborations of all kinds. Hear about how we choose who we want to partner up with and how dream collaborations, like with Dawid Podsiadło, turn into a reality. This episode also draws from our work on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to explore the role of business development in game dev — and why taking risks is so important. And last but not least, get to know all about what it feels like to win a prestigious Hugo Award!

In the second episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, our hosts Sebastian Kalemba and Paweł Burza are joined by Lead Quest Designer Błażej Augustynek and Narrative Director Philipp Weber to talk about great quests and how to make them! Tune into an insightful discussion about designing morally gray choices, the process of iterating a quest from pen-and-paper into the game engine, whether our devs think of male or female V as the “real” V, and much more!

In the first episode, Story Directors Marcin Blacha & Tomasz Marchewka join hosts Sebastian and Paweł to talk about creating captivating stories in our games! Together, they will discuss the role of story in the game development process, collaborating between writers and other developers, and the importance of narrative. Have you ever wanted to learn more about the people behind Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher games, or about the culture inside CD PROJEKT RED itself? Then you’re in the right place. Welcome to the AnsweRED Podcast — hosted by Sebastian Kalemba, VP and Game Director of the upcoming game set in the world of The Witcher, and Paweł Burza, Senior Communication Manager. Together with guests, they will unveil the secrets of game development and dive deep into our day-to-day tasks — as well as things that inspire us as creators! Meet the minds behind the things that define us: storytelling ingenuity, technical innovation, and absolute quality. Expect unique and honest discussions about our projects, game development processes, culture, and the unique way we operate. In each episode, our top experts from different fields will share their insight into their roles and strategies, discussing the challenges they've overcome and the experience they gained along the way — all of which has contributed to the company's success over the years. In the future, we aim to extend invitations to game developers from all around the world, with the intention of establishing a platform that fosters inspiring discussions and diverse viewpoints, while also facilitating collaborations within the game developer space. Let’s get started!

This is an official CD PROJEKT RED podcast dedicated to like-minded individuals interested in game development, providing a unique platform for them to gain knowledge from our team representatives’ insights, experiences, and cutting-edge expertise. In the future, we plan to extend invitations to game developers worldwide to establish a platform that fosters inspiring discussions and diverse viewpoints. Let’s begin!