CD Projekt Red has announced a new game in The Witcher series, promising the start of a new saga. Fans are already calling it The Witcher 4, despite the lack of an official title, and CD Projekt confirmed that they'd be using Unreal Engine 5 from Epic Games.
Details on The Witcher 4 are still pretty slim, aside from this major engine change. CDPR's REDengine is still being used for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 expansion but afterwards, it seems to be a whole new world.
If you're curious to know more, here’s what we've seen about The Witcher 4 thus far.
When is The Witcher 4 Coming Out?
No release date or release window for The Witcher 4 has been announced. CD Projekt Red said on their website that they aren’t ready to announce a date or time frame, so fans are in for a long wait, especially since the studio is still working on Cyberpunk 2077.
Which Systems is The Witcher 4 Coming Out On?
Currently, no gaming systems for The Witcher 4 have been announced. It’s likely that The Witcher 4 will arrive on next-gen consoles and PC but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Is Gwent Still a Part of The Witcher 4?
Gwent is currently a major part of The Witcher’s branding, with multiple video games being made, but the card game has not been confirmed for The Witcher 4. Stay tuned for further updates on this mini-game.
The Witcher 4 Development
In an interview with Bankier, CDPR CEO Adam Kiciński previously confirmed that there will be another The Witcher game, but it likely won't be called The Witcher 4. "The first three 'Witchers' were by definition a trilogy, so we simply could not name the next game 'The Witcher 4'. This does not mean, of course, that we will leave the world of The Witcher," Adam stated.
Additionally, in March 2020, Adam Kiciński shared with Eurogamer Poland that a "clear concept" for the next The Witcher game had already been mapped out. However, he also stated that production of the game would commence once Cyberpunk 2077 had been released, and we all know how that went.
As a result, CD Projekt Red have confirmed via a business strategy report that the development strategy of a parallel AAA game will begin in 2022. To us, this sounds like CDPR are finishing off their work with Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3's next-gen upgrade before planning to swiftly get started on another game in The Witcher universe. With previous titles in the series having an average of a four-year development process, we likely won't be seeing another The Witcher video game until 2026 at the earliest.
The Witcher 4 Story
The story behind The Witcher 4 remains even more up in the air than the release date. Given that we have been told the next The Witcher title is unlikely to be a direct sequel to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we can only assume right now that the game will take place in a completely different time or place to the original The Witcher trilogy.
Frankly, The Witcher as a franchise is not lacking on lore or areas it can pick up on. The next instalment could take place before the events of the trilogy, thus covering the events that happened in the books, or CD Projekt Red could be more daring and delve further into the future. It's also possible that the title could be a remake of The Witcher 1 from 2007, which many fans feel is due a remaster at the very least.
That's all we know about the release of another The Witcher game so far, but we are certain that we'll learn more about the game in 2022. We'll be sure to update this space when we know more, so don't forget to check back regularly. In the meantime, why not try romance women as Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, or check out the titles voice cast to see what they're up to.