The Witcher 4 is in development, and CD Projekt Red has a sizeable team of employees working on their newest RPG.
In March 2022, the official The Witcher X account announced that a new Witcher saga was beginning. Naturally, this meant that, at some point, we’d finally get our hands on The Witcher 4. However, since that initial announcement, we’d been given little to no information, much to our shared disappointment. That is until now. Not only has development started, especially now that Cyberpunk 2077 has been fully completed, but a massive team is working on the next installment.
The Witcher 4 Development Team Is Massive
The Witcher 4 development team at CD Projekt Red comprises over 400 employees. The details come from an earnings call by CD Projekt Red itself. In the earnings call, it was confirmed that the Witcher 4, referred to as Polaris in the earnings call, has more than 400 developers currently working on it.
It is scheduled to move into the production phase in the second half of 2024. When asked in the call whether we should expect the game to be released 2 to 3 years after production begins, Michał Nowakowski stated that they couldn’t say. He said, “I can’t respond to it with the precision that you would probably be hoping for because doing so would be leading on to the release date, which is not something we’ve historically done, and we’re not going to be doing it right now. Revealing release dates is part of the marketing plan, and that’s not something we’re willing to do here.”
Cyberpunk 2077 Team Has Moved On
Furthermore, the earnings call confirmed that most of the Cyberpunk 2077 team has been moved off the game. Only 17 team members are left working on bug fixes and finishing touches, with those expected to move on to The Witcher 4 eventually.
However, when asked if this was enough, Adam Kiciński replied that it was. He confirmed, “Yes, it’s enough. We are finally happy – since last year – with the state of the game; both the base game and Phantom Liberty – the latter from the very beginning, of course, so it’s enough – it might even shrink a bit because, as for now, we’re not planning any further big updates. Of course, we’re still looking at this game and things may change one day, but as for now, 17 is enough.”
The Witcher 4 Is Not Just “The Witcher 3 in New Clothing”
During the earnings call, Michal Nowakowski, the joint CEO for CD Projekt Red, explained that players can expect The Witcher 4 to be more than just “The Witcher 3 in new clothing.” Instead, the development team is aiming to bring a new experience to the monster-hunting RPG.
It will “build on the shoulders of what came before, and on what we’ve learned,” according to Nowakowski. This will be done by “adding new gameplay elements and new mechanics that you have not seen in our previous games.” He goes on to say that The Witcher 4 will be a risk, as “it’s not just repeating what was done before.”
Many are looking forward to the next Witcher installment, especially after the reception that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received. The third Witcher game by CD Projekt Red was one of their best-sellers and won Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2015. This, alongside Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption story, has earned the developer a lot of good faith from fans. Are you excited about The Witcher 4? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to check out our Guide Hub for more articles just like this one.