The Witcher 4 is reportedly in the works and could potentially be the next game that CD Projekt RED (CDPR) releases in the coming years. After the success of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, CDPR began working on sequels for each franchise.
In 2022, the developers provided a road map of their upcoming projects. One of those projects was The Witcher 4. Fast forward to January 2024, CDPR announced that the fourth installment would begin production within the year. True enough, The Witcher 4 codenamed Polaris began development in March 2024.
As of the end of April 2024, 407 out of 603 CDPR employees are working on Polaris. With that said, it's clear that the team has their attention focused on the development of The Witcher 4.
CDPR Declares The Witcher 4 Will Be in Full Production Soon
CD Projekt Red's Associate Game Director Pawel Sasko had a recent interview with Flow Games. Sasko discussed what projects his team is working on and what stages in development they are in. The Game Director mentioned that each project is in early development, however, The Witcher 4 is the most likely the first game to be released among the bunch.
Codenamed Polaris, Sasko revealed that the game is the furthest along development among all other CDPR projects. But he also clarified that despite having over 400 employees working on Polaris, fans shouldn't expect to hear about the game in the near future. Sasko also stated that it'll be a while until any news of The Witcher 4 comes to the surface. Fortunately, full production will begin soon.
The Witcher 4 Will Be the Beginning of Another Trilogy
After the conclusion of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt fans were skeptical about the franchise's future. CDPR officially stated that Wild Hunt marks the end of Geralt's story. However, what players failed to realize is that they never said that it was the end of The Witcher franchise. Having that in mind, what everyone thinks is going to be The Witcher 4 will actually be the beginning of a new series.
Pawel Sasko mentioned in his interview with Flow Games that Polaris will be the first Witcher game out of a brand-new trilogy. We're not entirely sure who the main protagonist will be, but one thing is for sure, it definitely won't be Geralt.
Heartbreaking as it may sound, at least we're still getting a Witcher game. The question now is, who is set to be the main protagonist? There are two possible outcomes in this scenario. Either CDPR is developing a Witcher game that follows the story of Ciri from her point of view or a story that follows an entirely new character outside of The Witcher books.
Whatever the case may be, fans would be excited to learn that The Witcher franchise is coming back to the gaming realm.
When Does The Witcher 4 Come Out?
As of the time of this publishing, CDPR is yet to reveal a release date for The Witcher 4. However, looking at the developers' workflow and release date tendencies, we're predicting that the game might launch sometime in 2028 or 2029. But that's being ambitious if we're going to be honest.
If we're going to base the development on how long it took them to produce Cyberpunk 2077, a realistic release date could fall in 2031 or 2032. Cyberpunk began development in 2012 and launched in 2020. However, the 2020 release was arguably one of the most controversial in gaming history due to the plethora of bugs and glitches the game had. It wasn't until 2022 that players could say the game was fixed.
Having all that in mind, it all comes down to CDPR and how they handle development in the next several years.
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