The Witcher 4 Now Expected No Earlier Than 2028

CD Projekt Red appears ready to take its time with The Witcher 4, prioritizing quality and a smoother development process over rushing the highly anticipated sequel to market.

Fans expecting to return to the world of The Witcher in the next two years may have to wait a lot longer. Well, it's not expected to be out in 2026 or 2027 at least. Comments from CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michał Nowakowski suggest that the next mainline Witcher game won't be ready until 2028 at the earliest. The company has yet to confirm a concrete release date, but the long production cycle suggests CD Projekt Red is aiming to avoid the blunders that marred Cyberpunk 2077.

Given Cyberpunk 2077’s rocky launch history, it’s reasonable that the team would want to take their time with The Witcher 4. CD Projekt Red received widespread criticism for launching the game before it was adequately polished, notably on previous-generation systems. The repercussions tarnished the studio’s reputation and proved a major lesson in the consequences of rushing ambitious deadlines over development quality.

It seems the studio is ready to take on fan discontent over a long wait for The Witcher 4 rather than risk another rocky launch.

Expectations are for the game to arrive polished on day one, especially with the huge anticipation for a new Witcher release. With the project established as the beginning of a new trilogy, CD Projekt Red has a lot riding on the game as its first major entry since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Another big reason for the long production cycle is CD Projekt Red’s move away from its proprietary REDengine.

This is a major tech shift for a company that relied heavily on its own tech in prior games. The Witcher 4 is being developed under Unreal Engine 5. Unreal Engine 5 is strong and could make development easier in the future, but porting a huge open-world RPG to an entirely different architecture is anything but simple.

Developers are apparently having to rebuild or completely change a host of features, including crowd behavior, horse physics, and seamless open-world technologies. Making an RPG of the scope of The Witcher 3, while also creating a new technology base, is a gargantuan task. Before the company can ramp up production, it needs to ensure its tools and systems are robust enough to support a game of this scale.

The delay also calls into question CD Projekt Red’s previously lofty goals for the upcoming Witcher trilogy.

The studio has mentioned plans to release the entire trilogy based on Ciri shortly after The Witcher 4. But if the fourth mainline entry is in 2028, the next games could be in 2031 and 2034, assuming development goes smoothly and there are no major delays.

Those timelines could be much beyond that. Modern AAA titles increasingly need five to seven years in production, particularly when they feature large open worlds, complex systems, and state-of-the-art technology. The drawn-out creation of The Witcher 4 isn’t a one-off problem; it’s part of a bigger industry trend.

In the meantime, it seems CD Projekt Red is focusing on making The Witcher 4 worth the wait. A 2028 release date would be disappointing for fans ready to begin the next chapter, but following Cyberpunk 2077’s lessons, a little more time might be the better bet in the long run. If the studio can deliver a professional, ambitious RPG, the long wait might be much easier to stomach.