We know almost nothing about Project Hadar.CD Projekt Red’supcoming new IP has been a thing at the award-winning Polish studiosince 2021, but with a tiny enough team at the helm to guarantee that it hasby no meansbeen the developer’s number one priority. Creating a brand-new universe takes time, after all.
In fact, Project Hadar has not even been officially announced. Which is probably for the best at this stage, as it’sall-hands-on-deckforThe Witcher 4and, well, some-hands-on-deck forthe sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. So, as far as the mysterious Project Hadar is concerned, we’re reading tea leaves for the vaguest hints of information. This week, however, we’ve nabbed ourselves a pretty sizable leaf.
Melee-Oriented Combat Is A Bit Less V, A Bit More Ciri
First spotted byTech4Gamers, there’s anall-new job listingof considerable consequence over at CD Projekt. It’s for a Senior Gameplay Designer, which is probably as important as it sounds. While studios tend to define individual developers' titles differently from one another, the job post requires “five-plus years of professional experience”, “proven success in creating compelling and innovative gameplay mechanics”, and “ownership over gameplay process[es] like features, gameplay mechanics, etc.”.
But let’s focus on that first quote for a moment. The required experience level notes a hiring preference toward those who are particularly familiar with the creation of “RPG/Action titles with melee-oriented combat”.
Cyberpunk 2077 hasmelee weapons. It’s got machetes, sledgehammers, katanas, and more. You can, indeed, go around bludgeoning V’s plethora of foes for hours on-end. At its heart, though, it’s more of a shooter. It’s an RPG, through and through, but that doesn’t mean it can’t involve greater overall potential for fast-paced firefights than precision swordplay.
Conversely, The Witcher has a smattering of projectile-based attacks. Yet, who among us doesn’t think of a Witcher’s blades before their bombs? It goes without saying, but if you want your Senior Gameplay Designers to have greater proficiency in close-range combat construction, you’reprobablydeveloping a game that involves an emphasis on close-range combat.
One other telling tidbit in the job listing is the need for a background in Unreal Engine 4 and/orUnreal Engine 5. That tracks with CD Projekt Red’s pivotal decision toswap out their time-tested REDEngine in favour of the ever-popular Unreal. It’s not exactly earth-shattering, but like I said earlier. Tea leaves.
