CD Projekt Red just called Project Orion Cyberpunk 2 for the first time but insists that isn't actually the title, and I think I heard this song before with The Witcher 4

The sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is officially entering pre-production, and CD Projekt Red has finally dropped the Project Orion codename in favor of calling it Cyberpunk 2, just like the rest of us have been doing this entire time.

The devs would like to make sure you don't get it twisted, though – just because they're calling it Cyberpunk 2 doesn't mean it's actually going to be called Cyberpunk 2.

"Several weeks ago the CD PROJEKT RED team responsible for the next big game set in the Cyberpunk universe completed the project’s conceptual phase," the company said in a press release accompanying its latest financial report. "As a result, Cyberpunk 2 – previously known under the codename Project Orion – has progressed to preproduction."

That sure sounds like an official name announcement, but as CDPR's senior PR manager Ola Sondej told The Verge earlier today, it isn't meant to be. "'Cyberpunk 2' just means it’s another game in the Cyberpunk universe," Sondej said.

If this whole song and dance sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the time CD Projekt Red announced the fourth game in The Witcher series and, the instant we all started calling it The Witcher 4, insisted that it was not called The Witcher 4. The official reveal last year, of course, confirmed that it will be called The Witcher 4 after all.

It's not unthinkable that the same thing might happen with Cyberpunk 2, but in fairness, the year-based naming format established with the original game does open up a much wider range of possibilities for the sequel's title. The Witcher 4 seemed inevitable, but Cyberpunk 2 does actually sound purely like a working title.

The game could be named anything from Cyberpunk 2078 to Cyberpunk 40,000, but nailing that down might give away more of the setting than CDPR is willing to commit to just yet.

Asked about Cyberpunk 2 release date, CDPR boss reiterates "our journey from the pre-production to the final release takes 4 to 5 years on average" but "each project is unique."