The Witcher 3 is regarded as one of the greatest RPGs of all-time thanks to its open world full of deep and satisyfing combat with a rich story and side-quests (and Gwent). While the game and it’s two expansions concluded the story of Geralt of Rivia, there is plenty more in the Witcher universe for a new game to tackle. So far, we know relatively little about The Witcher 4 except from what we can interpret from the teaser image. In fact, it likely won’t be called The Witcher 4 according to CD Projekt Red Global PR Director Radek Grabowski, who clarified on Twitter that no name has been announced for the new project and that it won’t be exclusive to one storefront. We also know that The Witcher 4 “research phase” has concluded, meaning development should start soon. Speaking to investors in a Q1 FY22 financials briefing, Adam Kicinski, CEO of the CD Projekt Group, said: “We are very eager to revisit the universe which has shaped our history to such an extent”. “We have recently concluded the research phase for the first game in the new Witcher saga, which means that from now on further development expenditures will be capitalized on our balance sheet.” There was a four year gap between The Witcher 2 and 3, and this latest news is only confirming the development of a new Witcher game, so we’re going to have to wait a long time before we get anywhere close to hunting new monsters. Here’s everything we know about The Witcher 4 so far.
Witcher 4 Teaser hints at school of the Lynx
The teaser image for the Witcher 4 sent fans into a minor frenzy, and many were quick to point out that the Witcher medallion set in the snow looks like a Lynx. This was confirmed by CDPR’s community manager Marcin Momot who responded to the suggestion on Twitter with a nod of agreement. In the Witcher books and games we’re aware of many Witcher schools including the School of the Wolf, that Geralt belongs to; School of the Bear; Gryphon; and Viper. There is also a Cat School of Witchers, but that appears to be different from the School of the Lynx. While there is no official Lynx School in the games or books, there was one created in a fanfic which is listed on the Witcher Fanon Wiki. This means that the story-writers and developers can have a lot of room to create a new plot and setting for whoever the main character might be in the new game.
The Witcher 4 won’t be an Epic Games exclusive
The official Witcher game twitter account confirmed on the same day the teaser was announced (21st March) that it wouldn’t be exclusive to one storefront. This comes after CDPR recently announced that they will be partnering with Epic Games for the future. This doesn’t mean the game will be coming to Steam on day one, however, as CDPR also owns the GOG storefront, so it will be a surprise if it doesn’t appear on there when the game comes out. That can mean that ‘The Witcher 4’ could launch on only the Epic Games Store and GOG, technically not making it an Epic exclsuive.
The Witcher 4 will use Unreal Engine 5
Along with the announcement that CDPR will be partnering with Epic Games, they also confirmed in the Unreal Engine 5 release keynote that the new game will use the new engine created by Epic. This is interesting because previously CDPR were very keen to point out that The Witcher games had been made using its own proprietary tech, the REDengine. It’s likely that the Unreal Engine 5 demo tempted CD Projekt Red to make the switch. CD Projekt Red CTO, Paweł Zawodny, said: “This is an exciting moment as we’re moving from REDengine to Unreal Engine 5, beginning a multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games… We’ll closely collaborate with Epic Games’ developers with the primary goal being to help tailor the engine for open-world experiences.” Zawodny noted that “It was the shift towards open-world support that brought Unreal Engine 5 to our attention”.
CDPR acquires extra games studio
Back in October of 2021, CD Projekt Red acquired games studio The Molasses Flood, the creators of The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. The announcement said that Molasses Flood will work closely with CDPR on one of their IPs, and later CDPR said they won’t be working on Cyberpunk 2077, so it follows that Molasses Flood will be working on the next Witcher game.
The Witcher 4 story
Even with the knowledge that The Witcher 4 will have something to do with the new Lynx School of Witchers, it’s almost impossible to predict what we’ll see, but we can speculate about certain characters or events happening. The first major character fans are wondering if they’ll see is Geralt of Rivia, the main character in the original trilogy and books. The Witcher 3 wrapped up Geralt’s story, but it didn’t kill him off, or the world he was in. In an interview with Polygon in 2013, executive producer John Mamais floated the idea that Geralt could return in a future game in some way, saying: “We might even include Geralt in later games potentially”. This makes sense given Geralt’s age throughout the trilogy (in his 90s) and the lifespan of Witchers (well into their hundreds), so he could appear in a game set before or after the Witcher 3. The same goes for Ciri, another main character from the games and the books who is given to Geralt due to the Law of Surprise and becomes a daughter-figure to him and Yennefer. Ciri is much younger than Geralt in The Witcher 3, and has the ability to time-travel, so it’s even more likely we could see Ciri in the next Witcher game, possibly as the founder of the Lynx School of Witchers. And as a final note, CDPR signed a new deal in 2019 with Andrzej Sapkowski, the creator of the Witcher books. Sapkowski famously wasn’t a fan of the success of the Witcher games because he signed the rights away for a flat fee. Now the two parties are back together Sapkowski will likely have an influence in developing the story of the new Witcher game. There’s a long road ahead before the next Witcher game comes out, and after the early struggles with Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Red has promised to not reveal too much until their games are close to release. When more things are revealed we’ll keep you updated on this page and across VG247. In the meantime, give the Jelly Deals Twitter account a follow to help you find games on sale to play before The Witcher 4 comes out.
