At the State of Unreal 2025, held during the Unreal Fest in Orlando, CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games jointly revealed a tech demo for The Witcher 4 (sometimes stylized as “The Witcher IV”). The demonstration showcased how Unreal Engine 5 is being utilized to develop the highly anticipated next installment in the acclaimed Witcher game series. It’s important to focus on the term “tech demo” here because the developer is still far from showing an actual game demo. So let’s focus on tech and the engine.
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This collaboration comes as part of CD PROJEKT RED’s transition to Unreal Engine 5, marking a departure from their proprietary REDengine, which was used for previous Witcher titles. According to the presentation, this change aims to take advantage of features in Unreal Engine 5 designed to enhance open-world environments, including advanced lighting, texture detail, and dynamic weather systems. The tech demo showed these capabilities in action, featuring a detailed medieval fantasy setting highlighting the engine’s ability to render realistic landscapes and character models.
Michał Nowakowski, Joint-CEO of CDPR, highlighted the partnership with Epic Games to “push open-world game technology forward” and celebrated the milestone of showcasing their work on Unreal Engine running at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, adding, “We’re far from finished.” Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, called CD PROJEKT RED “one of the industry’s best open-world game studios” and praised them as “the perfect partner to help us develop new world-building features that we can share with all Unreal Engine developers.”
Any release dates for The Witcher 4?
Neither CD PROJEKT RED nor Epic Games confirmed a release date for The Witcher 4, and specific gameplay features were not elaborated on during the event. However, both companies emphasized the strategic nature of their partnership, which is centered on combining CD PROJEKT RED’s storytelling expertise with Epic Games’ technological advancements. The companies refrained from sharing further details on how extensive their collaboration would be beyond using Unreal Engine 5.
The event drew considerable attention, with many attendees noting its focus on the game’s technical foundation. Unreal Engine 5 has been a point of interest in the gaming industry. It is renowned for its modular architecture, which supports scalable development for large-scale projects. This has implications for developers tackling next-generation gaming demands.
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CD PROJEKT RED also confirmed that updates regarding the game’s progress will be shared in due course via official channels. The studio remains committed to delivering an immersive experience, a hallmark of the Witcher franchise. This tech demo provides early insights into how evolving technologies shape game development, particularly for large open-world projects. For industry professionals and enthusiasts, it highlights the broader trend of leveraging powerful game engines to enhance both graphical fidelity and development efficiency.
Photo credit: All images shown are owned by CD PROJEKT RED and were made available as part of a press release.
Source: CDPR press release
