What goes into the sound design of CD Projekt Red’s upcoming game?

In the latest episode of the Night Wire City video series, developer CD Projekt Red gives fans some insight into the sound design recording process for the upcoming open-world, action-adventure game Cyberpunk 2077.

Episode 4 of the behind-the-scenes feature has a segment called “Revving Up Night City” (embedded below) in which senior sound designer Krzysztof Lipka spoke about the work that went into capturing sounds in a way that would complement the visual representations of the in-game vehicles.

“Early on, we made the decision that we are going to record on the racetracks and then we are going to record cars in movement,” Lipka explained.

The sound team recorded a variety of vehicles including muscle cars and off-road vehicles with the help of industry professionals.

“We had the team of mechanics from a rally team and they helped us immensely,” said sound designer Grzegorz Michalak. “What they’ve done is allowed us to put the microphones into places that we wouldn’t be able to access… They helped us to locate the places that are best.”

Michalak added: “We didn’t want the engines to be futuristic, sci-fi-ish sounding. We want them much more organic, much more down-to-earth. Something that would represent the combustion engine.”

Sounds from over 40 vehicles were recorded for the development of the game – a remarkable amount that’s relatively high considering Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t a racing game.

Cyberpunk 2077 is set for release on 19th November for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Stadia. Owners of the game on current-generation consoles can eventually get a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions, respectively, when they are available.