The Witcher 4: What Fans Can Expect from the Upcoming Release

The Witcher has never belonged to the category of games you finish and uninstall. It sticks with you through filthy politics and morally questionable decisions. The characters sound like people you have known, the decisions and failures that they make stay in your mind for reasons it is not always possible to put into words. In each of its entries, the franchise has altered the state of play for what gamers come to expect from an RPG in terms of how it deals with immersion, pacing, choice, and atmospheric feel.

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Now, with The Witcher 4 from CD Projekt Red on the way (in development, at the very least), anticipation intensifies. This isn't a sequel, as some people might have hoped to see on their wish list. It's a return to a world that changed the way role-playing games are played, but with the new protagonist and much more.

CD Projekt Red first signaled its interest in making another Witcher game in March 2022, though the studio was tight-lipped about specifics at the time. By October of that year, it was apparent that this wasn’t a spin-off or a side project, but the opening episode to a brand-new trilogy, the internal name for which was Project Polaris. It also comes as the company announced it would be abandoning its REDengine for its proprietary technology, which will not only future-proof the franchise but hopefully ensure development is free of the hiccups that torpedoed Cyberpunk 2077. For AAA game development, UE5 provides modular tools, advanced streaming tech, and built-in scalability, making the foundation of The Witcher 4 far more stable than past efforts.

Source: https://www.thewitcher.com/sg/en/witcher4

Production, too, proceeded at a tentative pace. A game persisted in pre-production mode for around two and a half years, with design pillars tested, narrative arcs mapped, and technology pipelines stressed to breaking point. CDPR didn’t confirm the jump to full production until late 2024, with more than 420 people working full-time on the game. Perhaps most interesting of all, however, is the fact that the studio has also brought Fool’s Theory, the creators behind the Witcher 1 remake, to assist, given the overlap in assets and technology. With this many hands on deck, The Witcher 4 is shaping up to be one of the studio’s most ambitious undertakings yet.

Naturally, fans want to know when The Witcher 4 is coming out. Official statements suggest that the game will not launch before early 2027. This lengthy timeline demonstrates that CDPR is dedicated to not letting another rushed release happen, prioritizing polish over punctuality. For casual players, blurring the timelines thanks to Netflix’s performance, it’s good to clarify that the well-discussed The Witcher season 4 release date isn’t for the RPG; it’s for the series. The game is years off, but those few details that they are releasing are enough to get excited about.

Perhaps the most defining choice for this entry is its new protagonist. Geralt will be present in some form, but it’s now the turn of Ciri, the new The Witcher 4 main character. Unlike Geralt, who is an established and seasoned veteran in the monster-hunting game, Ciri is a younger and slightly less experienced Witcher, still coming into her own. The story places her on a trajectory that merges sorceress powers with monster-hunting lore, a hybrid of a role unlike anything the series has quite tried before. Her Trial of the Grasses, a controversial but carefully justified addition, will anchor much of the story, forcing players to witness how this transformation affects not only Ciri herself but the world around her.

Developers have confirmed that The Witcher 4 gameplay is designed with broader narrative agency, allowing players to shape Ciri’s codex, her personal philosophy as a Witcher, through decisions both large and small. Open-world activities will also feed back into this system. Who you trust and the enemies you make all influence how the protagonist evolves.

Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/the-witcher/yes-the-witcher-4-might-really-look-like-it-does-in-the-rpgs-new-cinematic-trailer-it-represents-a-look-that-were-targeting/

On the technical side, CDPR’s adoption of Unreal Engine 5 allows for more than flashy visuals. The studio has already demoed its custom UE5 build running in real time at 60 FPS with full ray tracing, showing off reactive NPCs, systemic AI behaviors, dynamic flora, muscle simulations, and seamless cutscene transitions.

Developers emphasized that these demos should not be considered so much as the final game, but as a chance to shine a light on the engine. CDPR’s Art Director, Jakub Knapik, said that the company’s transition to hardware-accelerated ray tracing allows scene lighting to be perfectly matched across the board and that this development simplifies production and resolves challenges like bouncing lumen leaks in open environments. This should not only make the final product more cinematic but also more stable on the devices where it runs.

As for The Witcher 4 platforms, CDPR has taken a console-first approach. Development began with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S as the primary targets, with scalability baked in to support PC at higher settings. Though unconfirmed, there is a slim chance of the game coming to last-gen as the developer has emphasized a next-gen focus. The Xbox Series S has been described as “extremely challenging,” though the team is still aiming for a stable 60 FPS across all supported platforms.
When you add all of this together, you see the careful balancing of ambition and caution in the project. CD Projekt Red is doing its best to ensure the next Witcher game isn’t also a sequel. They're placing Ciri at the forefront, fixing the gameplay mechanics of The Witcher 4, and hopefully learning from the mistakes Cyberpunk made at launch.

The first The Witcher 4 trailer set the tone for the next chapter, but reactions from the community have been far from uniform. Straight off the bat, the most pressing topic was the revelation that Ciri is the protagonist of The Witcher 4. For longtime fans, some feel it’s a natural conclusion of where her story was left at the end of Wild Hunt, and others consider it a disservice to the open-endedness that concludes the previous game. The inclusion of the Trial of the Grasses (a process traditionally fatal for most candidates) has been singled out as particularly controversial, with critics questioning whether it distorts established lore to justify a new storyline.

Source: https://gamingbolt.com/the-witcher-4-official-trailer-breakdown-reveals-details-on-story-combat-and-more

Beyond character discussions, technical impressions dominated early commentary. The graphics in Unreal Engine 5 were praised for their realism, smoothness, and cinematic quality. A lot of people said that CDPR is clearly making this one of its flagship AAA games and that it will use next-generation technology a lot. Still, there were a lot of questions about systems, combat, and overall player freedom that weren't answered because there was no raw gameplay.
Cyberpunk 2077's long shadow predictably looms over conversation. Critics frequently reiterate that, despite how slick the unveiling cinematic looked, not everyone’s convinced CPDR can actually make good on what it presents. The history of delays, cuts, and post-launch patches still lingers in players’ memories, and this is what feeds that skepticism about timetables and promises.

Community conversations also revealed more, if quieter, sharp critiques. There has been a divided response to the recasting of Ciri, The Witcher 4’s voice, with some fans questioning the alteration and others not caring. On the other end of the spectrum, a minority of reactions dismissed the focus on a female lead, describing it as out of character for the show from the get-go. Although that perspective is fringe, it contributes to the image of a fanbase that is far from unanimous on where the new saga is headed.

Altogether, early responses signal a mix of hope and trepidation. The trailer has sparked renewed arguments over storytelling, lore fidelity, and the studio’s track record. Rather than one of unbridled enthusiasm, the new trailer has spawned a culture of expectation laden with the human weights of past letdowns and the dangers of starting a new trilogy around a polarizing lead.

The original trilogy was a book-inspired series that elegantly sat with Geralt of Rivia, developing in parallel to Sapkowski’s novels, and giving players a foundation to explore (hey there) the books with a grounded state of purpose. Each one iterated on its mechanics, but Geralt was the constant thread, grounding the experience in existing lore and viewpoint.
The Witcher 4 game takes a conscious break from the rules. CD Projekt Red has announced that this will kick off a new saga that focuses on new characters and new story threads (as opposed to carrying on Geralt’s story).

Source: https://www.thewitcher.com/sg/en/witcher4

Technologically, the transformation is equally stunning. Former Witcher games were built with CD Projekt RED's own REDengine, which made rich worlds with big, epic content but suffered from optimization and scalability issues. By comparison, The Witcher 4 is set to be developed in Unreal Engine 5, a more stable, performative, and graphically advanced engine.

In brief, the next entry is a real departure: a new hero, a new saga, a new technology. The first three Witcher games iterated on established foundations, and the next chapter of the series aims to extend them beyond the known limits and do something new with the universe.

And, as we wait for this AAA game to cut its niche and drag us into the Continent once more, there’s no reason to twiddle our collective thumbs. We're in the firm belief at Argentics that any idea, be it an epic world-shifting saga or a mere distraction for an easy evening, should be brought to life. We think of ourselves as your personal circle of mages: here to conjure mechanics and stories that resonate with the creative vision you hold. In the world of the Witcher, a well-cast spell can tip the scales of a battle; in game development, the right team can make a concept into something unforgettable. So, let’s chat!