The Witcher 4 is on the way
This May marks nine years since the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt back in 2015. Polish developer CD Projekt Red found massive success with the game, which scored great reviews and sold more than 50 million copies to become one of the best-selling video games in history.
The developer didn’t jump into The Witcher 4 right after, though, as it made Cyberpunk 2077 and released it in 2020, also to great success (following a dismal launch, it’s worth noting). But now, CD Projekt Red is returning to the fantasy series it’s best known for with The Witcher 4, which is in development under the codename Polaris. It kicks off a new trilogy that, should all go to plan, is expected to span The Witcher 5 and 6, as well, to complete a second set of trilogies.
The Witcher 4 is still a ways off, but CD Projekt Red management and staffers have shared insight into the project over the years. We’re rounding up everything we know about the highly anticipated fantasy-RPG (and a few morsels on the sequels), and we’ll continue to update this piece as more information comes to light.
Beyond The Witcher 4, CD Projekt is working on a series of other games as part of the company’s new strategy of working on multiple large-scale projects simultaneously. The others include a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, a remake of the original Witcher, a new IP in the works under the codename Hadar, and a new Witcher title from The Molasses Flood.
For now, here’s all the essential information to know about The Witcher 4.
When will The Witcher 4 release?
CD Projekt management said during a recent investor briefing that it does not historically share release-date information this early in the development process, and that stance is not changing with The Witcher 4. However, in 2022, management alluded to how The Witcher 4 would likely need a few more years and would not arrive until 2025 at the soonest. The game is CD Projekt’s first to be made using Epic’s Unreal Engine 5, and getting up to speed with the technology means development is going to take some time, the company has said.
As announced previously, CD Projekt and Epic signed a multi-year, multi-game deal for the Polish studio to use Epic’s technology to create The Witcher 4 and other games. Before this, The Witcher 3 and CD Projekt’s other titles were made using the company’s own game engine, the RedEngine. The Witcher 4 is the first entry in a new trilogy, and CD Projekt management said development on The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 should be smoother because the foundation will already be in place. CD Projekt management also mentioned how The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 should take about three years each to develop, so fans can expect this newest Witcher trilogy to span into the 2030s.
The Witcher 4 platforms
Given that CD Projekt has only confirmed The Witcher 4’s existence, the company has not yet committed to any platforms for the game. However, it’s a safe bet to assume The Witcher 4 will come to PC and specifically the company’s own DRM-free digital store, GOG. In terms of consoles, by the time The Witcher 4 releases, it’s possible there will be new, more powerful home-hardware platforms on the market from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. But as of yet, CD Projekt has not confirmed The Witcher 4 for release on any platform–PC, console, or otherwise. The company has historically supported PC and console, and even the relatively less-powerful Nintendo Switch got a port of The Witcher 3 from Saber Interactive. CD Projekt also supports streaming services, like Luna.
The Witcher 4 rumored story, setting, and characters
The Witcher games (and the Netflix series) are based on the Witcher novels from author Andrzej Sapkowski. CD Projekt’s first trilogy focused on Geralt’s journey, and many are wondering where the story could go in The Witcher 4 and beyond, or if it will adapt any elements of any of the Witcher books. We don’t have the answers to any of those questions.
One of the main pieces of speculation around the new Witcher game is what that medallion seen in the teaser art is. Some believe it represents the School of the Cat. CD Projekt itself later confirmed it’s a lynx, though the narrative implications of this are unclear.
Ciri from The Witcher 3 wears this medallion, though she formally trained at the School of the Wolf. Still, there are some who believe Ciri might take on a larger role in the next game, or perhaps be the main playable character. That remains to be seen, but CD Projekt Red previously teased that it wants to tell more Ciri-centric stories.
In 2020, CD Projekt writer Jakub Szamałek was asked by VG247 if the studio had considered making Ciri the main character of a new Witcher game. Szamałek replied, “Interesting question. Would you like to play a game with Ciri as a lead character?”
“I regret we didn’t get to explore Ciri’s past a bit more,” he explained of Ciri’s story in The Witcher 3. “She’s such an amazingly rich and complex character. Due to obvious reasons–well, she’s pretty much gone for two-thirds of the game–she didn’t get quite as much screen time as we writers would have liked. But hey, maybe it’s something we’ll get to get back to in the future.”
Some people initially thought the medallion shown in the teaser art was the School of the Cat medallion. The medallion is hidden in part by snow, and some elements are obscured, prompting lots of debate and discussion about what it all might mean.
Then there is the question of whether or not Geralt might appear. Similarly, we don’t know.
Who’s making The Witcher 4?
The Witcher 4 is in development at CD Projekt Red, the studio that made the previous trilogy spanning The Witcher, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As of April 2024, the game was in the pre-production phase of development. However, management said on an earnings call in March that full production is set to begin later in 2024. Additionally, the company said 400+ people are now working on the game and that it is further along in development than any of CD Projekt’s other upcoming games, including the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077.
The Witcher 4’s game director is Sebastian Kalemba, a CD Projekt veteran who started at the company in 2014 on The Witcher and its expansions, before moving on to Cyberpunk 2077. In November 2022, Kalemba said, “I believe nothing is impossible and raising the bar, telling emotional stories, and creating worlds is what we’re here for. I’m proud to be part of CDPR and work with such a talented and passionate team.”
What are the new features in The Witcher 4?
As part of CD Projekt’s latest earnings briefing, joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski said The Witcher 4 is not going to be “The Witcher 3 in new clothing.” It aims to break new ground and stand apart from the games that came before it.
“When it comes to the risks of innovative elements–making a new game is always a creative risk, especially since we’re trying to push new boundaries and explore new fields; that’s something we haven’t actually done before. This is a pretty broad paintbrush stroke, for sure, but I cannot go into too much detail without actually talking about the game per se,” he said. “I guess what I’m saying is that you should not be expecting ‘The Witcher 3 in new clothing’ of sorts.”
The Witcher 4 builds off The Witcher 3 and other games that came before it. But Nowakowski said The Witcher 4 will add “new gameplay elements and new mechanics that you have not seen in our previous games.”
“I’d say doing such things is always a risk; it’s not just repeating what was done before,” he said.
CD Projekt has not shown any gameplay footage or screenshots from the game so far, nor has the company discussed any “new gameplay elements” or mechanics just yet. Given that the sequel will be coming 10+ years after The Witcher 3, fans are no doubt going to expect a lot in terms of updates and improvements, while also retaining the essence of what fans have come to expect.
Responding to Cyberpunk 2077’s issues
Cyberpunk 2077 infamously launched with a litany of bugs and issues that were so severe that Sony removed the game from its digital marketplace for a period of time. Thousands of people got refunds. CD Projekt steadily supported the game after launch with many updates and improvements, and the game is in a far better place today after its much-heralded 2.0 release and the launch of its Phantom Liberty expansion.
For The Witcher 4, CD Projekt engineering director Colin Walder said the company made a number of key changes. He told Inven Global that the company made it a priority to focus on console support from the beginning of development. To that end, he said in October 2023 that the company was running internal demos of The Witcher 4 “from the very beginning.” He said this was a step that CD Projekt took on Cyberpunk only “later” in development.
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