CD Projekt RED is a well-known developer, may it be due to their recently “failed” Cyberpunk 2077 or their iconic The Witcher series. Since 2015, CD Projekt Red has kept its mouth closed upon the possibility of introducing another game in the franchise.
That was true until March 2022, so here’s everything we know about The Witcher 4, including its speculated release date and possible leaks.
The Witcher 4: Speculated Release Date
We’ll be straightforward on the get-go; there is no confirmed release date nor any reliable information about the release date for the Witcher 4. Provided that the latest Witcher 3 had almost a 2-year span between its announcement and release, we can only hope it would be the same for the sequel. With that said, a speculated release date of 2024 to 2025 is an ideal case for The Witcher 4. Another thing to note here is that they are calling this “Project Polaris”
We’ll update this section if anything comes up, including The Witcher 4 leaks.
CD Projekt Red’s Official Statement
CDPR in March 2022, teased the release of a new Witcher game, and the news took the gaming world by storm. Fans were psyched that they finally will be able to get their hands on The Witcher 4, but the excitement was rather shortlived (or was it?).
A day after the news, Radek Grabowski – Global PR Director for CDPR, released a statement that the teaser was in no way pointing toward the release of The Witcher 4.
According to Radek, the teaser is supposed to be the confirmation of the addition of a new game coming to The Witcher Franchise. At this point, they are only confirming that a new game is in development, and they are not calling it The Witcher 4 by any means.
A few months down the line, in September 2022, it was confirmed that a new Witcher game is surely coming. They were calling it by its codename, Project Polaris. The new game will be part of a trilogy that will be released over the span of 6 years.
This news was released along with some other interesting revelations (more on that later). It doesn’t matter if CDPR is calling it The Witcher 4 or not, but one thing is for sure; a new Witcher game is coming. Fans are impatiently waiting, so they will take anything at this point.
The Witcher 4’s Game Engine
Most of you might be expecting CD Projekt RED to use its proprietary engine called the REDengine — recently seen on the absolutely stunning Cyberpunk 2077. It’s honestly one of the most gorgeous engines made besides Rockstar’s Advanced Game Engine (RAGE). The implementation of ray tracing, specular map, and lighting all make up the stunning neon-filled lights of Night City.
CD Projekt RED surprised us that they made a multi-year strategic deal with Epic Games, bringing The Witcher series to Unreal Engine 5 — Epic Games’ newest engine. What can we expect from The Witcher 4’s transition into Unreal Engine 5? Well, here are a few fascinating technologies incorporated in Unreal Engine 5.
- Lumen Technology: Tries to emulate natural lighting.
- Nanite Technology: Allows incredibly detailed 3D Models by incorporating millions of polygons to keep the model as realistic as possible.
- Metahuman: Creates lifelike avatars by taking 3D scans of a person’s face and body.
- Meta Sounds: This allows sound designers to thoroughly work on the audio in Unreal Engine and allows them to create a much more immersive sound stage for players to experience.
- Open Worlds: Faster creation of open worlds for development and allows quicker loading times due to the World Partition system.
It is undoubtedly exciting that we’ll experience the entire world and lore of The Witcher 4 in this brand-new engine.
Will The Witcher 4 Be An Epic Games Store Exclusive?
With the partnership of Epic Games and CD Projekt RED, most fans highly think that the upcoming sequel will be an Epic Games Store exclusive on Windows. The good news is that CD Projekt RED openly stated that they would not make The Witcher 4 an Epic Games Store exclusive.
According to this Tweet from the official Witcher account, CD Projekt RED has no plans to make the game exclusive to any storefront.
It is nice to see that CD Projekt RED is open to having the game out in several stores for the PC. This news means that we will get regional pricing on the game, and absurd discounts throughout the years, especially in G.O.G. and Steam.
The Witcher 4: Possible Storyline
With the multiple endings presented in The Witcher 3, indeed, The Witcher 4 should emphasize the “canon” ending for the trilogy. It could also mean that Ciri might be in charge of this “new saga.” However, it’s still up in the air as CD Projekt RED released a teaser image for The Witcher 4.
This brand-new teaser image is a medallion that belongs to the School of the Lynx. We all know that Lambert came from this school, which could mean that the protagonist is one of his Witcher friends or even his student. Regardless, we will update the article once we have more news about the story of The Witcher 4, including leaks.
Will Geralt Be Included in The Witcher 4?
Most likely, Geralt will only make a brief cameo or even at least a mention within the game. This theory comes from the fact that The Witcher 4 will focus solely on a different school of Witchers, which, unfortunately, isn’t Geralt’s school.
Geralt’s storyline has already been concluded in the first trilogy of The Witcher; there’s no reason to possibly extend his storyline. Also, the teaser image involves the text “A New Saga Begins.”
Will The Witcher 4 Be Similar to the Netflix Series?
Very unlikely that this will happen. There are many problems if CD Projekt RED will make The Witcher 4 similar to the Netflix Series. Firstly, the story will have continuity issues as the Netflix series tackles most of the first trilogy. Second, the game will introduce new characters such as Gallatin, Milva, and many more, further complicating the plot.
Lastly, if The Witcher 4 is similar to the Netflix Series, it will become a soft reboot of the entire Witcher game franchise, ultimately failing CD Projekt RED’s promise of getting a new saga for the franchise.
CD Projekt Red Has Big Plans for The Witcher Franchise
Is it Christmas already because we are not just getting one Witcher game. CDPR is dropping bomb after bomb, and this time they blew us off with an announcement of two new projects they are currently working on alongside Project Polaris.
Project Canis Majoris (The Witcher Remake)
CD Projekt Red has been keeping their new projects behind code names, but recently they revealed what Project Canis Majoris is The Witcher Remake.
It was revealed in an announcement on the website that The Witcher Remake is in development. Though the game is still in early development stages but it has been confirmed that it is happening. Along with that, it was also revealed that the remake will be using the latest and greatest Unreal Engine 5.
You best believe that our boy Geralt is going to be looking pretty sweet. No release date has been announced yet, but a reasonable guess based on recent trends would be that it will come out somewhere around the end of 2024 or the start of 2025.
Project Sirius
The final announcement that was made was for Project Sirius, a.k.a, a Witcher game with a multiplayer mode. The project is currently in the early developmental stages at The Molasses Flood, a subsidiary of CDPR.
Project Sirius will be set in the world of Witcher and will offer story-driven single-player along with more interactive multiplayer. Because the project is being carried out in an entirely different division, hence we don’t think that it will affect the project which CDPR is directly working on, The Witcher 4.
It is food for thought that CDPR is experimenting with the addition of multiplayer to The Witcher Series. If things don’t go south, we might be seeing multiplayer being added to The Witcher 4 as well. Though it is just a theory, it is a possibility. CDPR did mention in their presentation that moving forward, most of their new games will have multiplayer.
Project Sirius might be an exploration trip down the realm where every Witcher game will have multiplayer one day. Fingers crossed because it would be fun to team up with other Witchers and fight against monsters.
Soo many new Witcher games! Is this CDPR’s attempt to redeem itself after the Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco? Only time will tell. Let us know what you think about all of the announcements in the comments below.
