CD Projekt RED Rebrands, Sells GOG Storefront for $25M in Major Corporate Restructure

Polish gaming giant CD Projekt has officially completed a sweeping corporate transformation, renaming its parent holding company to CD Projekt Red to align with its world-famous development studio. The rebranding, approved by shareholders in late June 2026, marks the final step in a strategic pivot that began months earlier with the quiet sale of its digital storefront, Good Old Games (GOG).[1][4]

Originally founded in 1994 as a distributor of foreign video games in Poland, CD Projekt launched its internal development studio, CD Projekt Red, in 2002 to create games based on The Witcher book series. Over the next two decades, the studio's massive success eclipsed the parent company's original distribution business. Management stated that the name change reflects this reality, unifying the corporate identity and strengthening the brand worldwide.[1][7]

The rebranding was made possible by a major divestment at the end of 2025. In a quiet but significant shift, CD Projekt sold 100% of GOG's shares to Michał Kiciński, one of the original co-founders of both CD Projekt and GOG. The transaction, valued at 90.7 million PLN (roughly $25.25 million), separated the storefront from the development studio for the first time since its founding in 2008.[2][5]

For CD Projekt Red, the sale removes a low-margin subsidiary and allows the company to focus entirely on its ambitious AAA development roadmap. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski noted that with the studio expanding its franchises, the executive team felt it was the right time to shed the distribution business and concentrate purely on high-quality game production.[2]

That production pipeline is currently operating at an unprecedented scale. The Warsaw studio is leading development on The Witcher 4, while a newly expanded Boston team is building the highly anticipated sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. The company is also developing a multiplayer game set in The Witcher universe, codenamed Project Sirius, alongside its first original intellectual property, Project Hadar.[1][4]

While GOG holds a beloved place in the PC gaming community for its strict anti-DRM (Digital Rights Management) stance, it has always struggled to compete financially with giants like Steam and Epic Games. In 2024, GOG generated approximately $55.5 million in revenue, but its profit margin was razor-thin, sitting at just over $316,000 for the year.[5][6]

GOG Managing Director Maciej Gołębiewski framed the separation as a necessary evolution for both entities. Operating as a subsidiary of a publicly traded company meant GOG's leadership constantly had to justify its niche game preservation strategy to shareholders who were primarily interested in the next blockbuster release. Now operating as a private, independent company, GOG can pursue its mission without corporate friction.[3][7]

That mission—selling games without DRM and ensuring players actually own their downloaded files—has gained renewed relevance in 2026. As major publishers increasingly rely on always-online requirements and subscription models, consumer pushback has intensified. The recent "Stop Killing Games" petition in the European Union highlighted the growing demand for the kind of true digital ownership that GOG champions.[3]

Despite the corporate divorce, the two companies maintain a close relationship. Kiciński remains a major shareholder in CD Projekt Red, and the entities have signed a long-term distribution agreement. Upcoming blockbuster titles, including The Witcher 4 and the Cyberpunk sequel, will continue to launch on GOG without DRM protection, ensuring the storefront retains access to its biggest system-sellers.[2][3]

Industry analysts view the restructure as a rare win-win in the gaming sector. CD Projekt Red emerges as a leaner, highly focused development powerhouse with a unified global brand, while GOG secures the independence it needs to serve as the industry's premier archive for DRM-free game preservation.[5][7]