The story of Geralt of Rivia and Ciri may have ended with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but Polish developer CD Projekt Red is not done exploring the lore-filled world of the franchise’s game universe. The company, whose latest project was Cyberpunk 2077, has confirmed that a new Witcher title is currently being developed on Unreal Engine 5.
While most details remain sparse, the announcement post describes this fresh entry as a “new saga for the franchise, and a new technology partnership with Epic Games.” The switch to Unreal Engine 5 is particularly notable, as CD Projekt Red had worked on their games using its proprietary REDending technology after The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
“One of the core aspects of our internal RED 2.0 Transformation is a much stronger focus on technology, and our cooperation with Epic Games is based on this principle,” CD Projekt Red CTO Paweł Zawodny said. “From the outset, we did not consider a typical licensing arrangement; both we and Epic see this as a long-term, fulfilling tech partnership.
“It is vital for CD Projekt RED to have the technical direction of our next game decided from the earliest possible phase as; in the past, we spent a lot of resources and energy to evolve and adapt REDengine with every subsequent game release. This cooperation is so exciting, because it will elevate development predictability and efficiency, while simultaneously granting us access to cutting-edge game development tools. I can’t wait for the great games we’re going to create using Unreal Engine 5!”
Despite the collaboration, the studio assures that the new installment won’t be exclusive to one storefront. There was also no word on whether the Butcher of Blaviken will be returning to the world of The Witcher, but the medallion featured in the teaser image does bear some resemblance to his wolf medallion. The blanket of snow makes it difficult to make out the entire design, so it could easily point to any of the eight schools, or even set the stage for a new school to make an appearance.
Further details, such as a development time frame or release date, have yet to be announced. In the meantime, fans can scratch their Witcher itch by playing any of the games, watching both seasons of its live-action series counterpart on Netflix, or indulge in the animation of Vesemir’s origin story.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Trinity Sun
Natalie
