The development of The Witcher 4 carries a significant weight of expectation, given that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was a monumental success, earning critical acclaim and selling over 60 million copies. In a recent interview, Narrative Director Philipp Weber of CD Projekt Red was questioned on how the studio plans to surpass such an impressive benchmark. Weber`s frank response was, “Yeah, how are we going to do that?”
Weber elaborated to GamesRadar that video games, much like any creative endeavor, are inherently subjective. Therefore, instead of striving to directly outperform The Witcher 3, the team`s focus is on doing justice to the legacy of its predecessor by maintaining the core philosophy that guided its creation. He emphasized the studio`s desire to “take the philosophy we had during The Witcher 3 — how to make a game, how to really care about these things, how to tell stories — and keep that philosophy.”
As The Witcher 4 is conceived as a “true sequel,” CD Projekt Red also aims to address “new questions.” Weber noted that failing to do so risks the game becoming a mere repetition of past achievements. “I think it`s really trying to have that healthy mix of really moving forward and also trying out some new things, but doing justice to what was there, not trying to beat it,” he added, underscoring the balance between innovation and respect for the series` roots.
Recalling the production of The Witcher 3, Weber described an environment of “good creative chaos” within the studio. This meant that developers often worked in a flexible, “vibe-based” manner, accomplishing tasks even if they extended beyond their strict job descriptions. Weber revealed, “Sometimes I like to just say, `Get it done. Do it dirty. Do it the way we used to do it!`”
A release date for The Witcher 4 has not yet been announced, but it is not anticipated to launch before 2027 at the earliest. This title is part of a broader portfolio of games currently in development at CD Projekt, which also includes Cyberpunk 2, a modern remake of the original Witcher game, and a new project being developed in collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
The decision to center The Witcher 4`s narrative on Ciri has already sparked some discussion and debate, including accusations of the game being “woke,” claims which Geralt`s voice actor has publicly refuted. Furthermore, an impressive technical demonstration for the game was unveiled earlier this year, providing a glimpse into its potential graphics and world elements. However, developers were quick to clarify that this demo was not representative of the final game`s state.
The mentioned tech demo included glimpses of the game`s visuals, with up to 30 new screenshots reportedly showcasing the `State of Unreal` demonstration.