CD Projekt Red’s CEO, Adam Kiciński, revealed the latest information on the development of The Witcher ‘four’ awaited by fans. Unfortunately, the release date may be further than initially expected.
CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kiciński provided an update on the development of The Witcher 4 during a meeting with investors. The release date of the game may be further than expected. Kiciński stated that while the transition to Unreal Engine 5 is expected by the studio to speed up the development of future parts, it has no impact on the current development of The Witcher 4 .
We prepare things from the technological and tool side. Some developers are still learning [Unreal Engine 5] technology, and at the same time, teams are working with Epic on all aspects needed to create an open world with a strong role-playing story. Certainly in the case of the first project, Polaris , it may not slow down, but it will not speed up [development] processes either. However, for subsequent projects, we assume that this should make production easier. That was one of the reasons why we […] said we wanted to release three big games in the Witcher series in six years, starting with the launch of Polaris , which is The Witcher 4 .
Kicinski said .
This information does not clearly indicate when The Witcher 4 may be released. The players assumed that the switch to the new engine would shorten the development time of the new game compared to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt . Initially, CD Projekt Red claimed that the new engine would accelerate development, but this did not happen. Therefore, it seems that The Witcher 3’s development timeline can be confidently used in predicting The Witcher 4’s potential release date .
Footage from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. CD Project RED
So what about the release date?
Looking at the development timelines of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 , around 4 years were devoted to both games. As development on The Witcher 4 started in 2021, if the current scheme holds true, the title could be released in 2025. However, it is worth noting that delays in game development are becoming more common, so while the 2025 release date may be real, there is no guarantee that this will actually happen.