The Witcher IV

Story and setting

The Witcher IV will begin a new saga with Ciri as its main playable protagonist. Developed and published by CD Projekt RED, the open-world fantasy RPG will follow Geralt of Rivia’s adopted daughter as she pursues her own path as a professional monster slayer. It will succeed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt while shifting the story’s central perspective from Geralt to Ciri.

Narrative director Philipp Weber has placed the story a few years after The Witcher 3. The developers have also confirmed that Ciri has undergone the Trial of the Grasses, becoming a witcher in her own right. Geralt will return as a character. CD Projekt RED has described the new game as an entry point for newcomers while also saying it aims to respect the previous game’s different endings.

The cinematic reveal introduces Stromford, an isolated northern village whose inhabitants prepare a young woman named Mioni as a sacrifice to a monster. Ciri intervenes, confronting both the creature, known as a Bauk, and the community’s beliefs. The sequence establishes the story’s interest in superstition, prejudice and the consequences of trying to help people who distrust witchers.

Kovir is a confirmed region and will make its first appearance in the video game series in The Witcher IV. The June 3, 2025 technology demonstration depicted its mountains, forests and port town of Valdrest. That presentation followed Ciri and her horse Kelpie through the countryside and into a crowded settlement, introducing part of the geographical setting without presenting the finished game.

Gameplay and confirmed features

CD Projekt RED describes The Witcher IV as a single-player, open-world RPG. Player choice and its consequences will remain central to its storytelling. The developers have explained that Ciri will be forming her own witcher code rather than beginning with Geralt’s accumulated experience, giving the story room to explore how she responds to difficult situations and the values she has learned from him.

The cinematic reveal shows Ciri carrying steel and silver swords and using a chain alongside magical abilities during her monster hunt. These are officially revealed elements of her portrayal, but the footage is a pre-rendered cinematic rather than a recording of combat systems. CD Projekt RED produced it with Platige Image using game assets and models in a customized version of Unreal Engine 5.

The separate State of Unreal presentation on June 3, 2025 demonstrated technology being developed for the project. Both CD Projekt RED and Epic Games explicitly distinguished that demonstration from actual gameplay of The Witcher IV. Its live presentation ran on PlayStation 5 at 60 frames per second with ray tracing; that performance describes the demonstration, not a published specification for the eventual release.

The showcased technology included animation tools, environment streaming, foliage rendering and crowd systems. FastGeo Streaming was demonstrated as a way to load environments smoothly, while Nanite Foliage supported detailed vegetation. Other examples included Mass crowd technology and ML Deformer animation. These presentations explain the project’s technical foundations without establishing final combat controls, quest interfaces or retail performance modes.

Release and platforms

The Witcher IV will target release in 2028, with its exact launch date still to be announced. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski disclosed the window in an August 24, 2026 video message. CD Projekt RED subsequently reiterated the planned 2028 window in its financial update published on September 2, 2026.

The planned platforms are PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC running Microsoft Windows. The studio’s June 2025 technology announcement also described its collaboration with Epic Games as supporting development across PC, PlayStation and Xbox. The PlayStation 5 demonstration formed part of that multiplatform development work rather than announcing an exclusive console release.

For physical purchases, Nowakowski confirmed in an interview published on August 28, 2026 that The Witcher IV will have a box containing tangible collectible extras. That commitment concerns packaging and physical items: it does not guarantee that a game disc will be included. He explained that console disc manufacturing depends on platform-holder policies rather than a decision CD Projekt RED can make independently.

Development and announcements so far

CD Projekt RED first announced the new Witcher saga on March 21, 2022. The announcement established the move to Unreal Engine 5 and a multiyear strategic partnership with Epic Games. The collaboration extends beyond engine licensing to technical development, with the teams working on tools suited to CD Projekt RED’s approach to open-world games.

An October 4, 2022 strategy update identified the project as Polaris and confirmed that it would start a trilogy. The company outlined an intention to publish the three games within six years beginning with Polaris’s release, with subsequent installments building on its technological foundation.

On November 26, 2024, CD Projekt RED announced that Polaris had moved from preproduction into full-scale production. The cinematic shown at The Game Awards 2024 then introduced Ciri as the lead, with the publisher’s formal reveal announcement published on December 13, 2024. That announcement also established The Witcher IV as the game’s title.

The June 2025 demonstration provided the next major public look at its world and technology. In August 2026, Nowakowski said more than 500 developers were working on the project and announced the 2028 target. The September 2 financial update reaffirmed that window, keeping the game’s release ahead rather than assigning a specific launch day.