The new CD Projekt Red logo just sparked the weirdest backlash graphic design has ever seen

Bird designs can cause controversy – just take a look at the new Twitter logo. But the controversy around the new CD Projekt Red logo is one backlash that I just can't fathom.

The Polish AAA game developer behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 has updated its mythological firebird symbol to make it look more the part, with sharper lines, an open beak and more aggressive claws. And somehow that's led to it getting dragged into the strange culture war going on in the US.

CD Projekt Red won a lot respect among this week with its Gamescom announcement of The Witcher 3 Remastered as a free upgrade. It's an astute way to maintain brand loyalty and engagement with the franchise ahead of the Songs of the Past extension in 2027 and The Witcher 4 in 2028. But is such unusual generosity from a big corporation a sign of – gasp – COMMUNISM?

Of course, it isn't. CD Projekt, the developer's parent company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and is very much a capitalist enterprise, but that's not the impression you would get reading some of the responses to the new logo design over on X.

CD Projekt Red calls its bird emblem a rárog, a tiny fiery spirit from Slavic folklore. The previous design in use since 2014 was very clearly modelled on the very real northern cardinal, a mid-sized bird that eats seeds and fruits and doesn't exude flames despite its striking red colour.

The studio says the redesign is intended to be more modern and adaptable, as well as "more mature, confident, and energetic". And it does. The new bird looks sharper and and has more personality, making it more fitting for the creature it's supposed to represent. The rebrand also makes more use of the colour red, which seems like a bit of a no brainer given that it's part of the studio's name, originally inspired by the red bricks of its first office in Łódź.

On the face of it, the rebrand is more evolution than revolution. But some people on X claim that it's "giving the woke vibes", which seems strange considering the bird looks like it's just started taking testosterone shots.

"Modernized and DEIfied," one person writes about the redesign. "This is what happens when your business is so rotten to the core by the woke mind virus," another person exclaims, while someone else describes the rebrand as "white erasure in favour of posting commie colours".

And there I was thinking the Cold War had ended over three decades ago.

It seems the shift from red on white to black on red is being taken by some to be a sign of allegiance to the US anti-fascist movement Antifa. I guess that makes Netflix and Coca-Cola Zero communist threats too.

It is true that black and red have been associated with rebellion since as far back as the Paris Commune and the Spanish anarcho‑syndicalists of the early 1900s. But that connotation was part of the original brief.

Co-CEO Adam Badowski explained the symbolism clearly at the time of the last rebrand back in 2014, saying “we are rebels, and rebels are free. Just like birds. The northern cardinal what we see ourselves in the industry: intrepid, bold and confident; flying high and aiming even higher.

"The colour, cardinal RED, is something that connects it with another bird, a mythological creature close to our cultural roots and heritage–the Raróg, a small firebird believed to bring luck to people. RED stands for energy, the inner fire that drives us; it represents something very close to everyone here in the studio–the creativity and passion we harness from within ourselves to make the best RPGs in the world."

The rarog has been updated, but what it symbolises hasn't changed.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the new identity.