CD Projekt Red doesn’t plan to release The Witcher 4 by the end of 2026, perhaps hinting it could be a next generation game.
In its latest financial call, the company discussed its profit forecast for the next few years up to 2028, for which it expects a significant increase.
“Even though we do not plan to release The Witcher 4 by the end of 2026, we are still driven by this financial goal,” the company said.
The Witcher 4 was first revealed at last year’s The Game Awards, though no release window was provided leaving fans to speculate. Though 2025 was very unlikely, some had hoped for a 2026 release. Now we know it will be 2027 at the earliest.
This is also in-line with journalist Jason Schreier, who responded on ResetEra that both The Witcher 4 and Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic won’t be out next year.
Does this mean The Witcher 4 will be a next generation game? Sony is no doubt already planning its PlayStation 6 console, while Xbox is reportedly targeting 2027 for its next console.
Or perhaps the game could be a cross-generation release, though that didn’t work out well for Cyberpunk 2077.
Eurogamer previously spoke with CDPR’s vice president of technology, Charles Tremblay, about a potential PC-only launch for The Witcher 4, with consoles following.
“It’s something we discussed, actually,” he said, “but we’re not 100 percent sure. Maybe – so it’s hard to say if we want to go this way at this stage. I would assume that as long as I understand, like, the strategy we want to do – I’m just trying not to say too much, bear with me – most likely, the launch, we will not have a PC-only launch, for example. I don’t think this is a strategy we want to adopt right now. That being said, will it mean that we will have – let’s say there were 20 platforms available – we’ll have 20 at launch? Maybe not. But at least PC only, and then scattered, it’s not necessarily the approach we want to go forward, for sure.”
From the same financial call, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski discussed not using generative AI in The Witcher 4 due to the legalities of ownership.
“I think we mentioned before that last year, we set up a team that’s investigating the potential use of AI solutions in our future products, including development of our own customised AI models,” he said. “And we have several research projects underway. However, they are really not necessarily focusing on generative AI.
“Gen AI, to be honest, is quite tricky when it comes to legal IP ownership and so on, and many other aspects. So when it comes to implementation of any gen AI in the actual games, we really have nothing happening when it comes to Witcher 4 or any projects in the near future.”
CD Projekt Red also confirmed a partnership with Saudi-backed mobile developer Scopely to create a game within one of CDPR’s franchises.