The Witcher 4 is in growth at CD Projekt Pink, the studio liable for The Witcher trilogy and spinoffs like Gwent. Initially developed beneath the codename Polaris, The Witcher 4 will kick off a “new AAA RPG trilogy” for the Witcher model, CD Projekt Pink says.
Like previous Witcher video games, The Witcher 4 will probably be a single-player open-world role-playing sport. CD Projekt Pink says it goals to create “probably the most immersive and bold open-world Witcher sport to this point.” One of many larger modifications coming in The Witcher 4 is its major protagonist: Ciri will take over for Geralt of Rivia after the conclusion of his story in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
CD Projekt Pink confirmed The Witcher 4’s title and Ciri as its star at The Recreation Awards 2024. Recreation director Sebastian Kalemba later commented in a information launch, “For the longest time we knew that we wished Ciri to be the protagonist of The Witcher 4; it simply felt pure to us and we consider that Ciri deserves it. On this sport we need to discover what it means to really grow to be a witcher by following Ciri on her Path.“
At The Recreation Awards, CD Projekt Pink additionally launched a cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4, teasing the challenges forward for Ciri and the “darkish and grounded” world of its new sport.
The primary trailer for The Witcher 4 exhibits Ciri taking up a witcher contract in a village that’s lengthy been terrorized by a monster that calls for human sacrifices. The trailer does extra than simply set the scene; it exhibits a few of Ciri’s new talents and weapons of struggle, together with a series and superior magic powers.
In accordance with CD Projekt Pink, The Witcher 4 cinematic reveal trailer illustrates how Ciri will contend “with the prejudices and superstitions of the folks she tries to guard, main her to confront a painful witcher lesson: that monsters are available all types.”
Primarily based on the occasions of The Witcher 3 and its many choice-based endings, good and unhealthy, there’s a lot to invest concerning the collection’ new route within the wake of Geralt’s story. If you wish to learn concerning the potentialities, right here’s a peek at the place The Witcher may go after Wild Hunt.
CDPR says it’s not simply “The Witcher 3 in new clothes”
In March 2024, when the brand new Witcher sport was nonetheless in its pre-production part, CDPR joint CEO Michał Nowakowski stated throughout an earnings Q&A that the developer is “making an attempt to push new boundaries and discover new fields.”
“I assume what I’m saying is that you simply shouldn’t be anticipating ‘The Witcher 3 in new clothes’ of types,” Nowakowski stated. “After all we’re constructing on the shoulders of what got here earlier than, and on what we’ve realized, however we will probably be including new gameplay parts and new mechanics that you haven’t seen in our earlier video games. I’d say — doing such issues is all the time a danger; it’s not simply repeating what was carried out earlier than.”
The tech powering The Witcher 4
Picture: CD Projekt Pink
The Witcher 4’s first trailer was made utilizing pre-rendered footage that was utilizing a customized construct of Unreal Engine 5 operating on “an unannounced Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU,” CD Projekt Pink says. So, yeah, it seems to be good for a purpose — it was made utilizing next-gen graphics expertise.
CD Projekt Pink claims that The Witcher 4 will probably be powered by that very same Unreal Engine tech, and that the fashions and belongings seen within the trailer are from the sport itself.
As beforehand introduced, CD Projekt Pink is transferring away from utilizing its inner REDengine, the expertise that powered The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and can as an alternative use Epic Video games’ Unreal Engine 5. CD Projekt and Epic introduced a “multi-year strategic partnership” in March 2022, and as a part of that association, builders from CD Projekt Pink are collaborating with Epic “with the first aim being to assist tailor [Unreal Engine] for open-world experiences.”
When does The Witcher 4 come out?
CD Projekt Pink hasn’t introduced a launch date for The Witcher 4. In actual fact, it hasn’t even supplied a launch window, so it’s unclear if the sport will probably be out in 2025, 2026, or effectively past that. The Witcher followers ought to in all probability count on a prolonged wait, as CD Projekt Pink introduced in November 2024 that The Witcher 4 had simply entered full manufacturing.
“I’m proud to substantiate that a number of weeks in the past the Polaris crew wrapped up preproduction and moved on to full-scale manufacturing — probably the most intensive part of growth,” stated joint CEO Michał Nowakowski as a part of the corporate’s monetary outcomes. “We’re more than happy with our progress on this venture, and I want to thank the crew for its dedication.”
The earlier sport within the franchise, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, entered growth in the summertime of 2011, however it wasn’t formally introduced till two years later. And the ultimate sport didn’t ship till Might 2015. The studio’s most up-to-date sport, Cyberpunk 2077, was first teased again in 2012, and it took a grueling eight years to lastly arrive (and in not-so-great form both).
Suffice it to say, the subsequent Witcher sport is probably going years away. CD Projekt Pink will nearly assuredly spend additional time sprucing and bug-squashing its follow-up to the Witcher trilogy, as a result of it merely can’t repeat the errors it made with Cyberpunk 2077.
What platforms will The Witcher 4 be on?
Picture: CD Projekt Pink
CD Projekt Pink hasn’t formally dedicated to any platforms but, however The Witcher 4 will seemingly be launched on PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Collection X.
Relying on how lengthy the sport is in growth, there’s a fairly good likelihood The Witcher 4 may additionally come to PlayStation 6 and the next-generation Xbox, which may arrive as early as 2027 or 2028, in line with some estimates.
It’s (in all probability) not an Epic Video games Retailer unique
CD Projekt Pink and Epic Video games are having fun with a “multi-year strategic partnership,” the businesses stated, however that doesn’t imply that the subsequent Witcher online game will probably be unique to Epic Video games’ digital storefront. Whereas Epic has invested many thousands and thousands into securing Epic Video games Retailer-exclusive video games, that type of association doesn’t seem like on the playing cards for the subsequent Witcher. Or, on the very least, CD Projekt needs to downplay the chance that there’s any type of exclusivity happening. In any case, CD Projekt has its personal video games storefront, GOG.com, and has loved multiplatform success over the previous decade.
