The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt has announced that a new game in The Witcher series is in the works.
From the sounds of things, the new title won’t be a continuation of the storyline seen in the trilogy which concluded with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It's time for a new story to take hold.
“We're happy to announce that the next installment in The Witcher series of video games is currently in development, kicking off a new saga for the franchise,” CD Projekt announced in a news post on The Witcher website.
In a major shift, the studio won’t be making the new Witcher game using their in-house development engine, REDengine. Instead, the new game is being developed in Unreal Engine 5. The shift comes as part of a “strategic partnership” with Unreal creator Epic Games.
“We'll closely collaborate with Epic Games’ developers with the primary goal being to help tailor the engine for open-world experiences,” CD Projekt.
The developer is keen to stress that “no further details” including an expected release date are yet available. But even the first announcement is enough for speculation. What a “new saga” refers to in terms of the The Witcher could mean anything from a new chapter following gruff and grumpy star Geralt of Rivia, a shift to the younger Ciri, or a new story entirely. Which school of Witchers the mask hidden in the snow belongs too is certainly the first hint of change.
CD Projekt’s global PR director Radek Grabowski made a point on Twitter that the announced game explicitly wasn’t The Witcher 4. He also confirmed that the new Witcher game wouldn’t be exclusive to any storefront as a result of the Epic Games partnership.
Expect it to be quite some time before further news about the new Witcher game arrives, but until then expect rumors and speculations to swirl aplenty as fans dissect this first image. As for what fans can expect sooner, a next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is being developed for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with aims to release during 2022. It seems old dog Geralt has some life in those bones yet.