In expanding their development attentions to outside of their native Poland, CD Projekt Red has announced that they are opening the doors for US players to join their resident playtesting program, in doing so allowing them to be among the first to try their future titles.
Titled the RED Playtesting Program, this initiative offers fans of the studio the chance to play and provide feedback on their in-development titles well before they hit the market.
Previously only open to players in Poland, the program is now accepting applicants from the US, with their main criteria to apply being that a given individual be at least 16 years old, live in or be willing to travel to Boston, Massachusetts for onsite activities, have an active CDPR account, and agree to sign any related legal documents.
Further, though this criteria listed in a tweet and not on the program’s official website, the studio is also apparently looking for applicants who are “not involved in game development professionally”.
And while that seems simple enough, as one expect, there is one major caveat to players’ eligbility: Their “gamer profile” needs to align with what CDPR is seeking.
“If your gamer profile aligns with what we’re looking for, we’ll reach out to you either through email or by phone to ask about your upcoming availability,” explains the studio on their official website. “All playtests will be scheduled at least a few days in advance.”
It should be noted that, at current, CDPR hasn’t revealed the exact criteria they are looking for in their potential playtesters – though it’s clear that not everyone will qualify.
However, given this lack of transparency, as well as the studio’s continued support of their women-exclusive ‘Girls in the Game!‘ mentorship program, as well as CEO Michał Nowakowski recent and confusing claims regarding their stance on DEI, some fans have begun to fear that, in time, patterns will emerge regarding just who is selected for to be a playtester.
To this end, the playtesting process doesn’t end with just playing the game and providing feedback, as the program is also designed to gather even more detailed information from players using advanced bio-metric equipment.
According to CDPR, participants may be hooked up, with their consent, to both “special equipment will check your pulse, eye movements or other physical factors to assess how you react to various events, what you focus your eyes on, etc,” as well as “special software will examine what you do on the test equipment, e.g. where you click, what buttons you press, what options you select, etc.”
As to what titles players can expect to play should they be accepted, CDPR has a stacked line-up coming down the pipeline in the forseeable future.
One of the most anticipated titles is The Witcher 4, which will kick off a new trilogy in the series. Alongside that, there’s the spin-off, codenamed Sirius and being developed by The Molasses Flood, as well as an ‘updated’ remake of the first Witcher game.
There’s also the planned sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, though given how early it is in development, it might be a while before playtesters get their hands on it. Additionally, CDPR is working on a new standalone IP, which has been in development since 2021.
For those eager to join the program, the process is rather straightforward: All one has to do is sign into their CDPR account, fill out a form, and then submit it.
If selected, participants will be contacted by a CDPR representative and given further instructions. However, the competition for spots is likely to be fierce, so gamers are encouraged to act quickly.