It looks like we’re going to be able to add wherever Ciri chooses to go as she embarks on a path to a destiny that’s entirely her own in The Witcher 4. CD Projekt RED’s Joint CEO Adam Badowski said at the International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź (as reported by Wiedźminlandia) that an “immense focus” is being placed on the narrative, which is being “frequently rewritten” to build on emotional beats that he believes are going to leave a “lasting impression on players”. That glimpse of her interference in a local ritual is certainly an indicator of good things to come, with a deep, nuanced layer to every story part of the fabric of CDPR’s worlds.

We can’t help but wonder what it’s choosing not to show us, as we’re almost certain that’s where all the meat on its narrative bones currently is, guarded closely by monsters that Ciri needs to defeat. Well, we’re happy to wait until the time comes and trust that the studio’s cooking ahead of The Witcher 4’s launch in 2028.

CD Projekt RED first started paying attention to Unreal Engine 5 around the time when Epic Games released The Matrix Awakens as a way to showcase all of the technical strides it had made. Nowakowski recalls having internal discussions about whether this meant that Unreal Engine 5 was ready to ship the studio’s games, and the decision at the time was no. However, after fostering a relationship with Epic and working on the engine itself, the studio was confident that it could adopt the engine for its own games.

“It was more the moment we got an early scoop of the Matrix demo that Epic made, and we then asked ourselves: is UE5 ready to ship a game like we make… the answer is no, not at the moment, not at the entry level, but if we form a relationship with Unreal and if we work on certain things which are specifically required to make games of the size and scope… it could actually work.”

“Our goal was not really to create technology but to tell stories. But then we realized that in order to tell the stories the way we want to tell them, we do need to have the technology. [By using Unreal Engine 5] we’re not going to be responsible for creating the technology from scratch but rather creating for that technology little things that actually make a big difference.”

It is worth noting that the decision to license an engine like Unreal Engine 5 or build an in-house one largely comes down to each company. While many across the industry prefer to simply license Unreal or Unity, others prefer to have a larger amount of control over the technology powering their games. One notable example of this would be Capcom with its RE Engine, which first made its debut with Resident Evil 7 in 2017, and continues to power recent games like Pragmata, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

As for Unreal Engine 5, engineering production manager on The Witcher 4, Jan Hermanowicz, had spoken about how the technical advancements made by Epic would also help CD Projekt with its future games, allowing for faster turnaround on projects. He noted that “the more tailored, the more appropriate for our type of game the pipelines are and the technology is, the easier it is to make the game.”

“We have multiple projects in flight now. [Cyberpunk 2077 sequel] Orion moved to pre-production.”

The Witcher 4 doesn’t yet have a release date and is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

He reiterated that the open-world RPG is in full production, which “roughly means – in very broad strokes – that we know pretty well what kind of game we’re making with elements and so on.

“Then it’s filling the game with content and so on. We’re not going into specific details. There’s a lot of milestones we have internally. There’s a pickup of specific batches, pickup of specific milestones. So we’re not announcing all of them because a lot of them are very technical, very internal, and actually wouldn’t really mean a lot to the external audience.”

Of course, he assured investors (and fans) about “what is happening right now: the actual making of the game till its release date. Every milestone is a moment for us to look at it and ponder where we are, how well we are progressing with development. Is anything hindering us? Is there any iteration required? And so on.”

While many would be familiar with terms like alpha and beta, game development is, unsurprisingly, far more complicated when it comes to progress. The Witcher 4 is touted as CD Projekt RED’s “biggest, boldest and most ambitious game to date,” so there would be a lot of moving parts. Some aspects like combat may require more work and bug fixing, while side quest design and writing are moving quicker than expected.

Putting all this under a singular milestone would be difficult, especially this far along (and that’s before even getting into technical performance, optimization and so on). And no matter what information is parsed from current progress, the company isn’t committing to a release date at this stage.

Still, it’s making progress, and the team sounds relatively confident in a 2028 release. Emphasis on “sounds” because you never know when things could change. Even The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was delayed twice before finally launching in May 2015. Speaking of which, head here to learn more about The Witcher Remake and why it’s planned to launch after The Witcher 4 is complete.

“The Fool’s Theory team is focused mainly on the development of Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, while a relatively small part of their team is supporting the development of The Witcher 4,” it told GameSpot. “As we have previously announced, the development on The Witcher Remake has been temporarily integrated with The Witcher 4 due to production process dependencies. As The Witcher Remake will be built on the foundation laid by The Witcher 4, we need to have the necessary assets, tools, and pipelines ready for efficient development.”

Going back to 2022, joint CEO Adam Kiciński said The Witcher Remake would launch after The Witcher 4 (then known as Project Polaris). He noted that the former is “based in big part on technologies” from the sequel, and that once development on the latter is complete, it will be “partially reused in the remake.” That last part likely refers to the “assets, tools and pipelines” cited in CD Projekt RED’s latest statement.

It makes sense in the long run, especially since the company’s future projects are developed on Unreal Engine instead of REDengine. Building on everything The Witcher 4 has achieved would shorten the development cycle, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the development team takes the same approach for The Witcher 5 and 6.

Announced in 2022 alongside Polaris and Project Orion, aka Cyberpunk 2, among other projects, The Witcher Remake is an open-world title. While similar to more recent entries in the series, it’s a huge departure from the original game. Artur Ganszyniec, the lead story designer on the original, even felt that the narrative could change as a result.

How that will work remains to be seen, but Fool’s Theory has confirmed that parts of the original it considers “bad, outdated, or unnecessarily convoluted” will be excised. On the other hand, it will ensure that “the parts that are great, should be retained, or are direct key pillars” are highlighted.

You might think that this means a physical disc. Studio joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski told The Game Business, “We don’t know what’s going to be the case. We know what PlayStation has announced. And we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes [we won’t have a disc].”

However, Nowakowski said that the highly anticipated RPG will “have a box.” “We’re big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things. We’re nerds ourselves, and we like that. We always supported that. So, whatever is the case, we’re going to be for sure having a box. We’re going to have a box that’s going to have some feelies in it. Something you’re going to be wanting to open up and enjoy. But we have no influence actually on what’s the case here.”

While a physical disc for PC in this day and age seems near-impossible, there is still Xbox. The company recently announced an initiative to allow players to digitize physical Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs. The digital entitlement is completely playable without the disc, though the latter still functions as normal.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma noted the benefits of digital media in a recent interview with the BBC but added that players “love physical media.” “I want to make sure people have a choice.” Whether that extends to Project Helix offering a disc drive and physical discs remains to be seen.

In the meantime, The Witcher 4 doesn’t have any confirmed platforms (aside from PC), and we’re yet to see any proper gameplay. CD Projekt RED will release The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered on September 29th as a free upgrade for current owners, and a new expansion, Songs of the Past, in 2027. However, it promised more news to share in the future, including potentially at next year’s Gamescom.

Nevertheless, Nowakowski sold it as a monumental endeavor, even by the studio’s standards, calling it “our biggest, boldest, and most ambitious game to date.” He also promised a “deep, impactful story that we hope will stay with you for a long time.”

“I know it’s a bit of a wait and you’d love to play it sooner, but let the team cook. It will be worth the wait.” Interestingly, he teased that Gamescom would be part of the developer’s plans for “the coming years.” If that’s not a tease for The Witcher 4 to have some kind of appearance next year (and the year after), then we don’t know what is.

In the meantime, fans can look forward to more details about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Songs of the Past. CD Projekt RED will offer a full look at the expansion, including a “taste of its dark story” and its new content, at its Gamescom booth. Nowakowski also implores you to check out the REDstreams that will air from August 26th to 30th, where there may be a “surprise or two” in store.

Songs of the Past launches sometime in 2027, and it’s due to receive its first trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25th, 11 AM PST. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime – it’s going to be an extremely packed show, based on what’s confirmed (and rumored) to appear thus far.

“I was in a conversation with a person who started a studio and was telling me: ‘I’m running a primarily AI-based studio. I can have 40 prototypes within a week, two weeks from now I can have five games that I chose are going to be the best, and three weeks from now, I’m actually launching a game.’” Nowakowski went on to note that he still had doubts about whether this concept would even work out.

“Maybe that’s going to be successful, but I have some doubts whether this is really the path to follow.”

Nowakowski had last spoken about the use of generative AI in game development during an earnings report from back in December 2025. At the time, he said that the studio had no plans to hire more ‘classic’ IT people to integrate generative AI tools in its development pipelines.

“We are not really hiring ‘classic’ IT – but I understand this is supposed to be about gaming industry talent – the availability of talent has perhaps increased a bit over the past three years, but I’m not sure I’d actually ascribe it to AI, to be perfectly honest – some studios have been going through turmoil; there were some project closures and so on, which led to many redundancies in the gaming industry; we’ve all seen that – it’s been very dramatic in many cases – but – literally kill me here, but I don’t recall a single time when it would be attributable directly to AI,” he explained.

He then went on to note that the studio was using AI tools in “productivity areas”, and while he didn’t explain what it meant, he noted that these tools aren’t capable of handling the creative aspects of game development.

“At least I don’t know about that. And as for reducing headcount thanks to AI – I don’t imagine that. Our usage of AI is mainly in the productivity areas, and that’s where we see the largest benefits of that. The benefits are real, they’re meaningful, but it’s not a situation – and I’m unaware of such a situation – where AI could ‘sit down and make games,’ he said. “That’s our take. It doesn’t mean it’s not gonna be useful, but it’s not gonna be making The Witcher 5, or 6, or anything like that.”

There have been quite a few recent conversations about the use of generative AI. Palworld developer Pocketpair’s head of communications and publishing, John Buckley, said that the company doesn’t plan on using these tools because “gamers don’t want it.” On the other hand, Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that generative AI was used in the earlier processes of the development of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.

It’s considered one of the best role-playing games out there today, especially after Phantom Liberty. However, despite changing how it develops titles (including properly documenting everything), steps to eliminate crunch, and more, CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski believes its redemption arc hasn’t been completed.

“I’m not 100 percent convinced we went through the full redemption arc,” he told the Knowledge newsletter (via GamesRadar). “I’m convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that’s a fair thing.”

Of course, the company isn’t simply taking it lying down. Nowakowski hopes that “we will be able to make it back – if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next.” Which would potentially be Cyberpunk 2, if not The Witcher Remake from Fool’s Theory.

Regardless, it’s a long journey, especially since CD Projekt isn’t keen on releasing a swath of titles. In the same interview, Nowakowski said that he’s not keen on a big game every year, and the team isn’t planning to grow by having several new IPs. Instead, the plan is to make “really cool games” – with the odd expansion such as, say, Songs of the Past for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

As for The Witcher 4, it doesn’t have a release date, but chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz said that it wouldn’t launch before 2027 at the earliest.

In a recent financial earnings call, CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski revealed that “the expansion is now in an advanced phase of production. Around 190 developers, most of them from our trusted partners at Fool’s Theory, are currently working with us on the project. At the same time, CD Projekt RED provides the creative oversight to safeguard the quality of the Witcher experience.”

How many developers from CDPR are involved remains unknown, but as of April 30th, 2026, there are 163 developers currently working on Project Orion aka Cyberpunk 2. Project Sirius, a multiplayer Witcher spin-off developed by The Molasses Flood, is next up at 83 developers, while Project Hadar has dropped from 26 to 24.

The Witcher 4 continues to command the lion’s share of resources with 513 developers currently, up from 499 in February. With CD Projekt RED’s focus split between its two core projects, it’s understandable that Fool’s Theory is handling the bulk of the expansion. Whether it’s affecting development on The Witcher Remake is a different question altogether.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past launches in 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, with a reveal confirmed for Gamescom. However, you should expect something akin to a guided demo rather than hands-on time, per Nowakowski.

When asked if expansions for the new Witcher trilogy were possible, given the company’s “very ambitious project pipeline,” he replied, “As you mentioned in the question, the plans are pretty ambitious. Specifically, it’s to release three Witcher games within a six-year period. It would be difficult, to be very honest, for us to add an expansion to the upcoming trilogy. This is where we are here and now with this particular issue.”

In case you missed it, CD Projekt has been adamant that after The Witcher 4’s launch, The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 would arrive afterwards in a span of six years. So assuming Ciri’s first solo adventure launches in 2027, that would mean the next chapter could debut in 2030, followed by the saga’s potential conclusion in 2033.

Now, you could say that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received its first expansion, Hearts of Stone, in October 2015, just a few months after the base game, followed by Blood and Wine in May 2016. However, keep in mind that Cyberpunk 2077, a brand new title, launched over five years later (development troubles aside).

If the company wants the same level of quality from The Witcher 5 and 6, if not higher, given the progression of the story, it makes sense to focus all their resources on the same. The possibility of expansions for any of these games isn’t exactly zero, if Songs of the Past arriving more than 11 years after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wasn’t enough indication, but for now, CD Projekt RED has bigger priorities.