Zakazane, new studio by CD Projekt and 11 bit studios veterans, raises $1 million to make "triple i" games

Zakazane is a new studio founded in 2022 by games industry veterans aiming to make what they define as “triple i” games. They previously worked on titles like The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and Frostpunk.

As reported by GamesBeat, Zakazane received a $1 million pre-seed investment from The Games Fund. It was founded in 2022 by:

• Creative director Jan Bartkowicz — former marketing expert at 11 bit studios and creative director at CD Projekt RED, where he was responsible for launch campaigns for The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 (he also worked as writer on The Witcher 2 and served as lead writer at Flying Wild Hog);
• Animator Piotr Chomiak — former animator at 11 bit studios, Flying Wild Hog, and CD Projekt RED, who has been in the industry for 23 years and has contributed to games like Frostpunk, The Witcher 1, and Shadow Warrior;
• Designer Radosław Gwarek — former AI designer at 11 bit studios, where he was responsible for AI systems for games like Frostpunk and This War of Mine (he also worked on the Minecraft mod called Deadly Monsters).

Zakazane currently employs 16 developers, including Marta Adamska, former head of business development at GOG, and art director Adam Kozłowski.

“This investment is a key move for us, extending our support and investments into the game development scene in Eastern Europe, especially Poland,” The Games Fund managing partner Ilya Eremeev said on social media. “We see a huge potential here thanks to a remarkable talent pool, a rich culture, and a strong dedication to gaming. It’s a privilege to have such talented developers put their trust in us, and share our values and vision for the future of gaming and entertainment.”

According to its website, Zakazane wants to “build projects with a distinct, unapologetic identity” for mature audiences. Its debut, unannounced game will be a single-player isometric RPG in the Old West setting.

As opposed to AAA-budget titles, the Polish team thinks of their projects as having “triple i” quality, where “i” stands for independent.

“I’m a real big fan of like story driven games,” Bartkowicz told GamesBeat. “I definitely have a soft spot for older BioWare games. That influences me a lot. They’re more like system-driven games. It has a strong narrative but it’s not like an interactive movie or anything like that. It’s a proper game with combat and exploration and all these system.”

Zakazane currently plans to launch a PC version of its debut game in the second half of 2026. Other details about the project remain undisclosed.