Sounds like a mini-game, social feature or something else that isn't directly multiplayer to be honest. If anything, co-op would be perfect for a cyberpunk game. I really, really hope they don't throw in some nonsense versus mode.

Can't say I like the idea of them venturing more and more into AAA territory. Hopefully they don't blow too much on marketing like they did with The Witcher 3.

They are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

I think we are a little closer to a "Good News! Galaxy is not really optional for this game" announcement.

So Witcher 3 blood and wine when?

Why does GOG need AAA releases? All they'll do is crowd out the smaller/indie releases.

They need AAA releases to draw more customers to GOG, the lack of big games is one of the main reasons many people still avoid GOG, some don't even know GOG exists. Indie games can be nice but it's not enough to let a store grow beyond a certain point.

Congratulations :)

As for Galaxy not optional; fine as long as offline play does not require it.

People should realize that network play rarely relies on custom solutions these days; it's just become way too complex, if the supported features are up to the current expectations of online players.
Leaderboards, matchmaking, hubs, chat, profanity filters, age rating, cheat detection are just a few of the visible features that need to be implemented - we are talking about years of development here for a small team.
Not to mention the server infrastructure needed should the game become successful...

So network play development increasingly has to rely on middleware and existing services.
Whether that middleware/service is Steam, GOG Galaxy, PSN, Xbox Live, Amazon Webb Services or anything else does not matter - it's just no longer possible to compete with other games without integrating one or more of these.

People don't complain about using FMOD for audio, so there is no need to complain about using a middleware/service solution for network play.
BUT only if it's used strictly for network play, not as DRM.

Economic growth. Nothing else.

Recent AAA games appearing on GOG would draw more customers in, who in turn would buy more indie releases as well.

If you want GOG to be just as big as Steam, but DRM free, the business has to grow.

As a developer, I'd welcome the new AAA releases here, as that would increase my circle of potential customers too.

Win-Win

That's great news for all Gogers.

Coexistence between classic and new games is necessary. In addly, if GOG get some AAA titles the site is growing along this year for sure.

I always thought it was odd that CDPR was a floated company. Having share holders makes it harder to have an ethos that is counter to established business doctrine.

I'm all for more AAA titles.
Yes there is a lot of rubbish labelled AAA, but there are also a huge number of games I'd love to play but won't buy if its tied to Steam.

CDPR nearly went bankrupt before The Witcher 2. That's why they are publicly traded. That's how they got money for TW2 and 3.

My view is also that AAA releases give more credibility to GOG as a digital distributor, and strong sales can attract new publishers and - ideally or just hopefully - inject some new interest in "dead" publishers here. (like, Activision takes notice again, GOG is finally able to bring Emperor ROTMK and such)

I also hope 2016 or 17 is the year Gearbox comes aboard with the Homeworld games (besides letting Duke Nukem come back).

Thanks for the info.
I'm very impressed and glad CDPR got the backing back then.

Now that you say it. I missed them too. There was always hope for a new major publisher...

Indeed, so perhaps the share buy-back is a move towards returning to a private company.

The summary and slides are now up on the site:
https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/Press_Room/Aktualnosci,news_id,2623
https://www.cdprojekt.com/resources/document/FY_2015_results_presentation.pdf - Slides
https://www.cdprojekt.com/resources/document/strategy-en-v2.pdf - Summary

Here are the bullets concerning GOG's strategy:
GOG.com
2016
• Release of a AAA game developed by an unaffiliated entity with full support for GOG Galaxy, concurrent with its
global release date.
• Expansion of GOG Galaxy with new features and networking technologies required by new CD PROJEKT RED
products.
• Support for pricing and payments in additional currencies and new language localizations of the GOG.com platform.
• Ongoing support for the “early access” mechanism introduced in early 2016, important from the point of view of the
platform’s ability to expand its catalogue with new games

Later years (2017-2021)
• Additional global releases of major videogames developed by unaffiliated entities with full support for GOG Galaxy.
• Technological support for new CD PROJEKT RED development projects, including customized solutions for
multiplayer gaming and other online features.
• Rollout of additional language localizations of the GOG.com platform.