Gabe Amatangelo

Changing The Game - A Leader's Perspective on CD PROJEKT RED's Transformation

Gabe Amatangelo, Game Director of the acclaimed Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion, will share his unique perspective on leading a team during the turbulent period that accompanies a studio-wide transformation. As CD PROJEKT RED reconfigured its development policies and production framework, Gabe was tasked with juggling simultaneous tasks: reconfiguring teams to a new, Agile methodology while supporting Cyberpunk 2077, developing the expansion, and most critically, overhauling virtually all of the base game’s systems and releasing Update 2.0 ahead of Phantom Liberty. 

Gabe will highlight the most important focus areas and successes that allowed CD PROJEKT RED to literally change the game and inject both Cyberpunk 2077 and the studio with fresh energy and momentum. Key takeaways will include common pain points that can come up during such a comprehensive overhaul and how to successfully tackle them; how to create buy-in from employees; how studios and companies can leverage past challenges to create new paths and possibilities; and how to ensure a company retains its personality while also building new management and work styles from the ground up.

Bio:

As VP and Game Director at CD PROJEKT RED, Gabe's most recent task was to direct and oversee Phantom Liberty, a highly acclaimed spy-thriller expansion to Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the massive Update 2.0 for the base game. The scope of his work on the project included delivering a stellar AAA release, as well as managing his teams through a process of a company-wide transformation. Currently, his work focuses on establishing the new, North America-based CD PROJEKT RED studio in Boston, Massachusetts, which will be responsible for the development of the next Cyberpunk game, codenamed Project Orion.