October 1, 2024

What

Digital distribution platform for one of the oldest and best retail games publisher in Poland (that later spunned off into famous CD Projekt RED, Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk developer).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJyCdf_EtYM

Why

CD Projekt sp. z o.o. was the initial legal entity that started the current CD Projekt group. With roots in local retail publishing in Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary, the company faced challenges in 2011. The founders wanted to focus on game development and the global no-DRM gog.com platform. However, the profitable retail publishing was shrinking due to the pressure from digital channels and global publishers entering the market. Debt from poor past decisions also played a role. This led to the idea of turning things around by launching a local digital platform.

How

  1. Very clear, narrow vision (even if it made things harder) - I love the fact that CD Projekt has always been very clear about what they want to achieve, why, and for whom. If this vision was ever unclear, the founders of the company were very direct in providing feedback.
  2. Bold (company changed its name) - To escape from the past, we wanted to be pretty aggressive about it, so we changed the entire group name to CDP.pl, which meant there was no going back.
  3. Fast, with hard deadlines - The initial deadline I was given was 90 days, which I think, honestly, looking back, it seems kind of crazy and, to be frank, a bit stupid. Somehow, we managed to pull it off. The launch wasn't perfect, but you know, you get what you ask for. I guess this is how CD Projekt likes to do launches—wink-wink.
  4. Move fast, break fast - The approach I took, with the support of other key people in the organization, was to ensure that our goals were not hindered by politics or pre-existing systems. This was sometimes challenging for me, especially in terms of personal relationships.
  5. Focus on quality, design, and small details - Since the founders of CD Projekt are highly focused on detail and design, and are known to be Steve Jobs and Mac aficionados, the key was to ensure that everything looked neat. To achieve this, I partnered with Alexandra Drachal, a great designer. Thank you all.
  6. Initially a web app, later a dedicated desktop app and Windows app - I strongly believe that before committing to something big, you should first do lean iterations and understand the market. That’s why, even though our ultimate goal was to compete with other platforms like Steam, we initially started with just a web app. It was only in later stages that we focused on developing a Windows application, which we did with the support of Microsoft. This partnership was both good, because we worked with Microsoft, but also challenging, as we had to align with their marketing goals in our decision-making.
  7. Quickly added other digital goods like comic books, ebooks, and even movies - After the launch, we reviewed the numbers and understood our position, which, frankly speaking, was not great. Competing with global giants is not easy, so we tried to introduce new revenue streams by adding products like comic books, eBooks, and even movies later on. It was an interesting engineering and product challenge, but in my opinion, it somewhat diluted the brand.
  8. Used external partners for tasks that would take too long to handle internally - For me, it was a very important part of my professional journey to partner with external providers, such as NetGuru, as well as others. They helped me build everything quickly, whether it was working on key components, providing the overall brand, key visuals, or other elements. That experience was really rewarding, and I still maintain some of those relationships to this day, as you can see.
  9. Partnered with top brands and vendors like Netia and Microsoft - For my professional development, I vividly remember participating with big brands like Netia, a telecom provider, and Microsoft. Throughout the process, I learned that your vision, product vision, and scope will often not align with the goals of other partners. Things can quickly go wrong if you focus too much on politics instead of delivering value to the end customers.

Key numbers and outcomes

  1. Time to market - we entered the market very quickly, meeting all the deadlines. 🚀
  2. Games sold - Well, you know, we sold some games. Was it a big business? Not really. 🥴