Studio CD Projekt RED has officially outlined the release window for its massive role-playing game The Witcher IV for the first time. The company’s Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski announced that the project is scheduled for release in 2028.
The executive called the upcoming RPG the largest, boldest, and most technologically complex project in the Polish studio’s history.
500 Developers and Ciri as the Main Character
According to Gematsu, the project has entered full-scale production, with more than 500 specialists working on its development.
The fourth installment kicks off a brand-new saga, featuring Ciri as a professional monster slayer taking over as the main protagonist from the retired Geralt. One of the confirmed open-world regions will be the northern, snow-covered kingdom of Kovir, home to the port city of Valdrest.
Switch to Unreal Engine 5 and a New Trilogy Within Six Years
The Witcher IV will be the company’s first flagship game built on Unreal Engine 5. The studio abandoned its proprietary REDengine and is collaborating with Epic Games to adapt UE5 tools for seamless streaming of vast environments, NPC crowd behavior simulation, and stable ray tracing performance.
According to GameSpot, the company plans to release the entire new trilogy (The Witcher IV, V, and VI) within six years of the fourth game’s launch—approximately by 2034. Building the core architecture on UE5 will significantly speed up the development of subsequent sequels.
Songs of the Past Expansion and Gamescom Plans
The studio specifically emphasized that The Witcher IV will not be shown at Gamescom 2026: the team is focused on production and asks the community not to rush the developers, avoiding potential technical issues at launch.
Instead of the fourth installment, the Cologne event will host the premiere of the story expansion The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past, scheduled for release in 2027. The expansion will serve as a narrative bridge between Geralt’s story and the start of Ciri’s journey.
To our beloved fans, players, and community:
— The Witcher (@thewitcher) August 24, 2026
As we near #gamescom in just a few days, CD PROJEKT RED Joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski would like to personally invite YOU to join us there, and hear about the future of The Witcher franchise! pic.twitter.com/Jyam30SrQH
The Witcher IV is scheduled to release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
