“We have an important development update regarding our third franchise, Hadar,” he said during the earnings call. “Work on the project is progressing dynamically, and the team has established the foundations of this entirely new IP. Now, we have clearly defined distinguishing features of this world, and established key pillars that will not only provide the foundation for the game itself, but also, potentially, for other future products.”

Further in the call, he spoke about how the work on the IP itself will also continue to “evolve and develop on many fronts over time.”

“The team is now actively designing specific elements that might be included in the game,” he continued. “We are creating multiple prototypes and implementing them directly in Unreal Engine. This allows us to live-test and verify how selected mechanics and gameplay elements can perform.”

Word on Project Hadar had first come up back in 2022, when it was revealed that CD Projekt RED had been working on it “100% internally”. At the time, it was described as being distinct from the company’s other major franchises: Cyberpunk and The Witcher. Setting Project Hadar further apart is the fact that it won’t be an adaptation of any kind.

“We do certain types of games, and I think it’s safe to assume that we want to continue to do the games within that kind of genre, so you can imagine what kind of game to expect,” said Nowakowski at the time.

Another report from October 2022 has indicated that Hadar might also be an RPG, keeping it in line with CD Projekt’s other titles. During a conference call, Nowakowski noted that “when it comes to the genre, we do certain types of games and I think it’s safe to assume that we want to continue to do the games within that kind of genre, so you can imagine what kind of game to expect.”

The most recent report to have come out about Hadar was CD Projekt RED seemingly expanding its development team. A job listing from back in July 2025 has indicated that, along with RPG elements, the title will also focus primarily on melee combat. The listing was for a senior gameplay designer, and noted that Hadar was “still in its early days” of development. Among the required qualifications for the role was “at least 5+ years of professional experience in a similar role, preferably in RPG/Action titles with melee-oriented combat.”

For now, CD Projekt RED has largely remained silent when it comes to more concrete details about Hadar. Since it is now in the prototyping phase for key game elements, however, we might start seeing more about the project by next year.

Granted, that’s only three more than it reported as of July 31st, but it makes sense since full production began almost a year ago. The developer has grown overall this past quarter, going from 799 to 851 developers with Cyberpunk 2, also known as Project Orion, gaining 21 more team members. Other projects like The Molasses Flood’s Project Sirius and new IP Project Hadar saw comparatively minor increases to their teams.

However, it’s interesting to note CD Projekt RED’s plans to scale its Boston, Warsaw and Vancouver teams for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. From October 2025 and well into 2027, it plans to more than double the former’s size to over 300 developers. The latter two teams will also go from fewer than 100 to well over 150, meaning over 450 developers will be working on the title in about two years.

While The Witcher 4 won’t launch before 2027 “at the earliest,” this presents a timeline for when CD Projekt RED may start winding down production and gradually shifting team members to Cyberpunk 2. That’s if everything goes according to plan, and with a project aiming to be the “most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game,” there may be some hiccups.

Earlier this year, the developer opened several new positions for the title, potentially ramping up production. A recently discovered listing for Senior Gameplay Designer indicated that the project is “still in its early days.” However, one of the qualifications for the position asks for “At least 5+ years of professional experience in a similar role, preferably in RPG/Action titles with melee-oriented combat.”

If Project Hadar is trending in a similar direction, it wouldn’t be too surprising, given the studio’s pedigree with The Witcher series. It also aligns with Nowakowski saying, “We do certain types of games, and I think it’s safe to assume that we want to continue to do the games within that kind of genre, so you can imagine what kind of game to expect.”

You also have to wonder if any of the work done on combat for The Witcher 4 could carry over. Time will tell, so stay tuned for more updates.

As for CD Projekt RED’s other titles, The Witcher 4 doesn’t have a release date but did receive an impressive tech demo at the latest State of Unreal. Project Orion, also referred to as Cyberpunk 2 (which isn’t the final title), has recently entered the pre-production phase, though it may still be five to six years off from launch.

There are a host of open positions relating to Project Hadar at CD Projekt RED from just about every facet of development the studio currently partakes in. Positions include senior gameplay designer, writer, senior game programmer, senior VFX artist, lead VFX artist, previz artist, senior technical artist, and lead technical artist.

It is worth noting that these positions were the ones specifically labelled for Project Hadar. There were also several open positions where work would involve “multiple projects”, which would likely also include Project Hadar.

Project Hadar was revealed thanks to an investors presentation all the way back in 2022. Since the game is still likely in deep development, the studio hasn’t revealed many details. However, CD Projekt SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski did reveal shortly after the investor presentation that the title would be an RPG, and one that would be similar to what fans of CD Projekt RED’s games have experienced.

“We’re not providing any specific dates in terms of the start of the pre-production of the title,” said Nowakowski at the time. “We’re still at the phase of building that setting, and this is the part preoccupying the core team working on it. However, when it comes to the genre, we do certain types of games, and I think it’s safe to assume that we want to continue to do the games within that kind of genre, so you can imagine what kind of game to expect.”

No further details about Project Hadar have been revealed since then. In the meantime, CD Projekt RED is working on The Witcher 4, which was officially unveiled back in December 2024 during The Game Awards. In development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, The Witcher 4 will feature Ciri as its main protagonist.

While Ciri was present in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as an important character, the studio has since revealed that The Witcher 4‘s version of the character will be played by Ciara Berkeley, rather than Jo Wyatt who voiced her in The Witcher 3.

The voice actor for traditional The Witcher protagonist Geralt of Rivia, Doug Cockle, has referred to the move to feature Ciri as the protagonist of The Witcher 4 as “a really good move”.

“I’m really excited,” said Cockle. “I think it’s a really good move. I mean, I always thought that continuing the Saga but shifting to Ciri would be a really, really interesting move for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because of things that happen in the books, which I don’t want to give away because people, I want people to go read. So yeah, I think it’s really exciting. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see what they’ve done.”

Project Hadar needs an extraordinary crew. Please feel invited. https://t.co/FLtoqzzMzD

— Marcin Blacha (@thetathetatheta) February 17, 2025

However, not all developers are moving to the Polaris team, which totaled 250 by the end of July 2023. Some will continue to support Phantom Liberty post-launch, while others move on to Project Orion (a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077) and Project Hadar, a new role-playing IP. Kiciński also said the company was “parting ways” with some team members – a gradual process that ends in Q1 2024.

Neither Project Orion, Project Hadar or Project Polaris have release dates, so we’ll need to wait a while for more details. In the meantime, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty launches on September 26th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, with CD Projekt “very happy” with current pre-orders. Check out the latest gameplay here.

Currently called Project Hadar, the title will be the studio’s first IP to be entirely developed internally from scratch, and has been in incubation since late 2021. Details on it are understandably scant for now, but what sort of a game can we expect it to be?

Speaking during a recent conference call (via VGC), CD Projekt’s SVP of business development Michał Nowakowski said that while Project Hadar is still in the very early stages of development (to the extent that there’s no word even on when it will enter pre-production), it is still going to be an RPG and will align with the sort of experiences one would expect to see from CD Projekt RED.

“We’re not providing any specific dates in terms of the start of the pre-production of the title,” he said. “We’re still at the phase of building that setting and this is the part that’s preoccupying the core team working on it. However, when it comes to the genre, we do certain types of games and I think it’s safe to assume that we want to continue to do the games within that kind of genre, so you can imagine what kind of game to expect.”

CD Projekt RED has built its reputation around single player, story-driven open world RPGs with a heavy focus on choice and consequence mechanics, so it’s safe to assume that Project Hadar won’t deviate from those core tenets. As for the other details, it seems like it’s going to be quite some time before we get any concrete word on that front.

CD Projekt has also said that “most” of its future games will also feature multiplayer elements, but it remains to be seen whether that’ll be the case with Project Hadar as well.

CD Projekt has announced in an investors presentation that it is also working on Project Hadar, a new title. While details on the game are scant, the company confirms that it’s a completely new IP developed “100% internally”, and is distinct from Cyberpunk and The Witcher (both of which are, of course, based on original works).

Project Hadar is currently very early in production, with CD Projekt saying it is “in the conceptual phase”. It has been in incubation since late 2021, with only a “small strike team” working on it for now. Presumably, it’ll be quite a while before we hear any concrete details on this.

The next mainline Witcher game is in development at CD Projekt RED and will begin a new trilogy, while work on a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 will also begin once its expansion, Phantom Liberty, launches next year. Called Project Orion internally, it will be developed by a newly-established studio in Boston.

Meanwhile, two more The Witcher games are in the works, with The Molasses Flood working on one, and an open world single player RPG spinoff being made by a third party studio comprised of former Witcher developers.

pic.twitter.com/yIV1jyLSpk

— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) October 4, 2022