The Witcher 4 officially announced – What we know so far
The Witcher 4 is getting real. CD Projekt has announced The Witcher: A New Saga Begins as the new game in The Witcher series.
It’s crazy to be able to rewrite this, but: There’s actually a new The Witcher coming. Various job postings and tips were already pointing in the same direction, now it’s official. CD Projekt’s next big project after Cyberpunk 2077 will be The Witcher 4 or The Witcher: A New Saga Begins. This is a project title, so the final name of the game will be different.
The team announced this at GDC 2022, where the developers talked about their upcoming game and technical pitfalls. Because The Witcher 4 will be a turning point in technical terms.
Teaser for The Witcher 4
Ok, before we get into the technical details, let’s talk about the teaser. There’s not much to see yet, but at least we’re getting a glimpse of a new Witcher coin and the official announcement:
This teaser strongly hints at a new main character: Ciri. Because the young hero carries the cat school witch locket – in the books, he receives three medallions from notorious bounty hunter Leo Bonhart: the wolf, the cat, and the griffin. Holding the cat locket himself, he gives the first and third to Geralt and Yennefer, respectively.
This step fit the story perfectly. While Geralt’s journey ends beautifully with The Witcher 3’s finale, Ciri offers incredible story potential. Depending on which canon the developers choose, she may finally begin her adventure as the Empress of Nilfgaard.
What kind of game will The Witcher 4 be?
Development is still in its infancy and CD Projekt Red is still behind the tree with detailed information. However, a few minor details about the content are already known. We briefly summarize all the specific information here:
- This won’t knock your shoes off, but CD Projekt has confirmed: The Witcher 4 will be an open world role-playing game.
- CD Projekt will again tell its own story in the Witcher universe and will not take any stories directly from the literary original.
- This story should stand on its own and does not require any playing time in the previous ones. However, previous experience may help you better understand some connections.
- CD Projekt Red talks about a new epic. It looks like multiple games are planned. But for now they just want to focus on this topic.
New technology for The Witcher 4
CD Projekt is replacing the engine for The Witcher 4. It’s a milestone, because the in-house REDengine was used for Cyberpunk 2077 and 3 like The Witcher 2. However, the Witcher sequel was made on Unreal Engine 5, so CD Projekt is partnering with Epic.
According to CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077’s rugged technical condition should not have played a role in this decision. Thanks to Unreal Engine 5, at least the team is no longer alone and has support from Epic.
The release of The Witcher 4 is, of course, still far away – most likely this early announcement also serves to recruit CD Projekt and recruit new people for the development of The Witcher. The renewed crisis at CD Projekt Red prior to the release of Cyberpunk 2077 could have deterred potential employees.
At the same time, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who starred in The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, left CD Projekt and founded the Rebel Wolves studio (a name that makes sense). This is also working on a major fantasy role-playing game on Unreal Engine 5, and according to Tomaszkiewicz it is said to have snatched experienced team members from CD Projekt for it.
