The busy Polish gaming industry has yet another developer to keep an eye on, as one of the key minds behind Cyberpunk 2077 has struck out on his own, forming a new studio, simply named “Blank,” with several CD Projekt Red vets. Blank is led by Cyberpunk 2077 designer/game director Mateusz Kanik, as well as producers Jedrzej Mróz and Marcin Jefimow. Other key team members include Michal Dobrowolski (CDPR) as Design Director, Artur Ganszyniec (CDPR, 11 Bit Studios) as Narrative Director, and Grzegorz Przybys as Art Director. Right now Blank only has 10 employees, but there are plans to staff up to around 60. Kanik provided the following statement regarding the new studio to Video Games Chronicle…
“We’re thrilled to announce Blank. and to start expanding our incredible team. After working for years in an increasingly conservative industry, we’re ready to make bold, impactful projects that share our unique creativity and values. Where the industry champions a dictatorship of the creative individual, we want to give ownership to the team. Where the industry leans on crunch culture, we prefer work-life balance. Where the industry says bigger is better, we’re setting our sights on highly polished games with a focus on emotion, story, and craftsmanship.”
While Blank hasn’t officially announced their first project yet, their website does tease something, showing off the following concept art.
According to the site’s description, Blank’s first game will take place during or after some sort of apocalypse. It also won’t be open-world, with the focus instead being on narrative.
“Currently, we are working on a character-driven story from an apocalypse — with a twist or two. We’ve had our share of creating huge, super complicated games with open worlds. That’s why, we focus on simpler goals – uniqueness, emotions, quality, and refinement. We put all our passion and dedication into our craft, and we’re eagerly looking forward to letting you play the compelling narratives we are working on. Rest assured, we will share more details when the time is right.”
Blank is just one of several Polish studios formed by ex-CD-Projekt-Red developers. Most recently, the director of The Witcher 3 branched off to create the new studio Rebel Wolves.
What do you think? Interested to see what Blank produces? Or is “from the makers of Cyberpunk 2077” not exactly a ringing endorsement?
