CD Projekt Red recently announced several projects currently in development at the Polish studio, including a new Witcher trilogy and a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. However, The Witcher 4 – which is under the working title Polaris – is seemingly still in early development as the team gets accustomed to using Unreal Engine 5. Fans shouldn’t expect the next game to release until 2025 at the soonest.
As reported by IGN, The Witcher 4 is likely three years away from release. CDPR CEO Adam Kicinski provided some insight into what’s happening at the studio right now regarding the new engine and when we can expect the next Witcher game to launch.
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“For Polaris we are preparing technology. This is the first project to be released on the new engine, Unreal Engine 5, [so] there is a need for some extra work making this technology,” said Kicinski. “For this project, for sure we need some extra effort to deliver.”
When asked if The Witcher 4 would be three years away from release, Kicinski said yes. However, he added that development on The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 would be much smoother because the foundation of Unreal Engine 5 will already be in place. After 2025, we can possibly expect each subsequent release to take around three years to develop, meaning we’ll have a new trilogy of Witcher games within six years.
That said, CDPR is also planning a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 as well as the Phantom Liberty expansion for the original game, which will launch only on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (as well as PC). In addition to The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises, CDPR is also developing an original IP which will be a new RPG, though details are scarce.
CDPR stated that The Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition is still on track to release for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year as free upgrades, though no date was given.
Source: IGN
