The next installment in CD Projekt Red’s acclaimed action role-playing series, The Witcher 4, may not be released until 2027 at the earliest, the studio said during an earnings call on Tuesday. The Polish developer doesn’t expect the game to be released until late next year. The Witcher 4, which will kick off a new saga in the series, received a sneak peek trailer at the 2024 Game Awards, but CD Projekt Red did not confirm the game’s supported platforms or release schedule.
The Witcher 4 won’t launch before 2027
However, according to the studio’s latest update, it might be a while before we see The Witcher 4. CD Projekt Red won’t be announcing an exact release date for the game anytime soon.
“To give investors more insight, what we can disclose at this time is that the game will not launch within the time frame of the first target of the incentive program, which will end on December 31, 2026,” CD Projekt Chief Financial Officer Piotr Nielubowicz said in response to questions during the company’s fiscal 2024 earnings conference.
This means that The Witcher 4 is unlikely to be released in 2026, and 2027 may be the earliest release window for the game. If the development cycle changes or delays are possible, the RPG could launch later in 2028, closer to the release of Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles. The two platform owners reportedly plan to launch next-generation consoles around 2028. A recent report claimed that the next-generation Xbox console could arrive in 2027.
Considering the time frame, The Witcher 4 could be a cross-generation game that would run on current-gen and next-gen consoles in addition to PC. The game begins full production in November 2024.
The Witcher 4 was first announced in March 2022 under the name “Project Polaris”. CD Projekt said at the time that the game would be the beginning of a new Witcher saga, releasing as the first part of a new trilogy. The Witcher 4 is being developed in Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.
In the game, Ciri will be the protagonist, while Geralt of Rivia will take a back seat. “The Witcher 4 is a single-player open-world role-playing game from CD Projekt Red. At the beginning of a new saga, players take on the role of Ciri, a professional monster slayer, and embark on a journey through a brutal dark fantasy world. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, it aims to be the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game yet,” reads the game’s official website description.