CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the next instalment in The Witcher video game series has now entered full-scale production. The game was announced back in 2022 as the studio outlaid its plans for the Cyberpunk and The Witcher series. However, at the time, the game was described as “in the early stages of pre-production”.
Full-scale production doesn’t mean the game is going to be ready any time soon. It just means that CDPR is now focusing more staff and resources on the project. We know that CD Projekt Red decided to build this new Witcher game using Unreal Engine 5. The project was initially announced as a game in partnership with Epic Games. Right from the start, CDPR revealed the plans to develop this Witcher game in UE 5 instead of the in-house REDengine.
This was likely done to speed up the development while at the same time, avoiding another historical bug-ridden game. Both Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 were built in REDengine and both games suffered from performance issues and bugs. Cyberpunk 2077 is the worst of the two given its rushed development and false marketing campaign.
Game Director of The Witcher project, Sabastian Kalemba announced on X that the game is now fully underway. He says:
I’m thrilled to announce that Project Polaris has entered the full-scale production phase! With new challenges just around the corner, it’s the talented and hard-working people who make me believe we can together make the upcoming Witcher Saga a remarkable experience. No stopping now! Stay tuned for what’s on the other side of the coin!
At the moment details are scarce regarding the project. All we know is that it is being developed in Unreal Engine 5.
Along with the news of The Witcher, CD Projekt Red also revealed that Cyberpunk has sold 30 million copies to date. The game’s DLC has also sold 8 million copies.
Source: CDPR
