Quick answers: The Witcher 4 (codename Polaris) is in full production at CD Projekt Red on Unreal Engine 5. It is not coming in 2026 — industry forecasts point to late 2027, and a major new gameplay reveal is expected at gamescom on August 25, 2026. Ciri is the protagonist. Geralt appears "in some capacity." Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Status: In full production · Engine: Unreal Engine 5 · Team: 400+ developers · Targets: 60 FPS with ray tracing on base PS5
What Is The Witcher 4?
The Witcher 4 is the next mainline entry in CD Projekt Red's saga — the first since 2015's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and the start of a brand-new trilogy. It's being developed under the internal codename Polaris and is the biggest project in the studio's history.
The announcement came in spectacular fashion: at The Game Awards on December 12, 2024, CDPR premiered a six-minute cinematic trailer that broke viewing records and confirmed two things fans had guessed for years — the game exists, and Ciri is the protagonist.
Since then, CDPR has confirmed the game is in full production (development began in earnest in late 2024) and is being built with a custom fork of Unreal Engine 5 — the studio's first Witcher game not built on its own REDengine.
The key facts:
The Trailer: What It Told Us
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | CD Projekt Red |
| Internal codename | Polaris |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 (custom fork) |
| Protagonist | Ciri (post-Trial of the Grasses) |
| Team size | 400+ developers |
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC |
| Status | Full production · playable end-to-end |
| Release | Not 2026 — Q4 2027 forecast |
The 2024 reveal trailer was a single, self-contained story — a classic witcher contract, told in miniature:
- Where: the village of Stromford — a rain-soaked, windswept hamlet that feels like a cross between Velen's poverty and Skellige's cliffs.
- The monster: a Bauk — a shapeshifting creature from Slavic folklore that preys on fear itself. The villagers have paid it tribute with a human sacrifice every generation.
- The twist: the elderly woman offered to the Bauk is revealed — to the villagers' horror and ours — as Ciri, using a disguise to take the monster's contract directly.
- The fight: Ciri cuts the Bauk down mid-shapeshift with her silver sword Zireael, her other hand controlling a magic chain that binds and yanks the creature. She rides off on Kelpie, her black mare.
The trailer was pre-rendered in a custom UE5 build on an unannounced NVIDIA RTX GPU, in collaboration with the animation house Platige Image (the same team behind The Witcher 3's cinematics). That means it wasn't gameplay — but it was a precise statement of intent.
Ciri Is the Protagonist: What We Know
The biggest story change is confirmed: Ciri is the main character — a full witcher now, not the child of the Elder Blood fleeing destiny.
- The Trial of the Grasses: CDPR has confirmed Ciri underwent the mutated Trial of the Grasses (the reveal trailer even shows hints of it — the patchwork scar over her eye is new, and she fights with full witcher senses). This was the subject of furious debate after the trailer: can the Child of the Elder Blood even be mutated? CDPR's answer, per lead quest designer Philipp Weber: "The trial would have a much higher risk of failure for her" — meaning the game will explore what Ciri had to sacrifice to become a witcher.
- No elder blood crutch: Ciri's powers from The Witcher 3 (blinking between worlds, the Source magic) are not her combat identity in the reveal — she fights like a proper witcher, with signs, steel, and silver.
- Equipment: Zireael (her sword from the ending of The Witcher 3), a chain weapon that works like a grappling hook for repositioning, and Kelpie.
Is Geralt in The Witcher 4?
Yes — "in some capacity." That's CDPR's official phrasing, and veteran voice actor Doug Cockle confirmed in interviews that he has recorded lines for the project ("I can't say much... I can't say anything really, but it's been fun recording"). What that means — a cameo, a mentor role, a romance-linked appearance, or something else entirely — remains the single biggest open question in the fandom. Don't expect him to be a companion; do expect him to matter.
What About the Other Characters?
CDPR has confirmed returning and new characters will be announced "in time." The obvious candidates from the books — Yennefer's fate in the "Witcher 3 good ending" timeline, Triss, Dandelion, Ciri's adopted family in Novigrad — are all speculation at this point. What's confirmed: the game takes place years after The Witcher 3, Ciri is a seasoned witcher, and this is a new chapter, not a sequel directly picking up a specific ending.
Gameplay: What's Confirmed
CDPR has been unusually transparent about gameplay goals, drip-fed through official Q&As, the AnsweRED podcast, and investor calls. Confirmed so far:
- Signs on the move: magic signs (Igni, Aard, Quen, etc.) no longer freeze you in a casting stance — you can cast while moving, rolling, and attacking. This is a direct response to Witcher 3's clunky cast-and-wait combat.
- Free jump: no more invisible walls and scripted vaulting. Ciri can jump freely, and verticality is a design pillar.
- Combat identity: expect the trailer's chain weapon to be a real gameplay tool — CDPR describes a more mobile, aggressive combat loop than Geralt's.
- Grounded witcher gameplay: the studio has said multiple times it's doubling down on what makes the series unique — potions, oils, signs, monster lore, and contracts — rather than copying other open-world formulas.
- 60 FPS + ray tracing on base PS5: confirmed as a performance target by the studio in early 2026. (More below.)
The World
CDPR has said the map will be comparable in size to The Witcher 3 — and, per the studio, built with UE5's tech to be far denser and more vertical. The reveal's village (Stromford) looks like a northern Temeria/Velen-style region, but the full setting is unconfirmed. Expect at least one brand-new region on top of the familiar Northern Kingdoms.
Release Date: When Is The Witcher 4 Coming Out?
This is the headline question, and the answer is simple: not in 2026.
- CDPR CEO Michał Nowakowski said in late 2025 that the game would not launch in 2026 — a rare straight answer from the studio.
- CFO Piotr Nielubowicz reinforced this on the FY2024 earnings call, and the tone through 2025 was consistent: "We are not going to announce a release date until we're confident."
- The current industry consensus: Q4 2027. An analyst note from Noble Securities (July 31, 2026) forecasts the game's launch in late 2027, which lines up with CDPR's stated plan of a polished, no-crunch release and its historical pattern (they never rush — The Witcher 3 was delayed twice).
What Happens Next?
- gamescom 2026 (August 25, 2026): the widely-reported venue for the next major gameplay reveal. CDPR has a big presence booked, and press speculation — plus "Songs of the Past" DLC marketing (below) — points here.
- Playable demo: CDPR has said the game is "playable end-to-end" internally since 2025 and has been talking about a public playable build. A gamescom floor demo is very plausible.
- Full reveal: expect the official release date announcement at a dedicated event — most likely in 2027, mirroring how Cyberpunk's date was set ~8 months before launch.
Platform and Performance
- Platforms confirmed: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A Switch 2 version has not been confirmed (CDPR only says "no announcements at this time").
- 60 FPS target on base PS5 with ray tracing: CDPR confirmed in a Q&A that the base PS5 version targets 60 FPS with RT features — a bold goal on the launch hardware.
- PC: UE5 + an unannounced NVIDIA RTX GPU were used for the trailer, which strongly suggests day-one DLSS and full RT features.
"Songs of the Past": The Bridge Expansion (Important!)
In May 2026, CD Projekt Red announced Songs of the Past — a brand-new, Blood and Wine-scale expansion for The Witcher 3 that is being explicitly positioned as the narrative bridge between Wild Hunt and The Witcher 4.
Why this matters for Witcher 4 fans:
- It's the first official Witcher 3 expansion in a decade, and it's clearly a marketing bridge into the new game.
- Reports describe it as comparable in size to Blood and Wine (the 2016 expansion that added a whole new region).
- Release window: 2027, with the full reveal expected at gamescom on August 25, 2026 — the same event rumored for Witcher 4's gameplay.
- Development is rumored to be handled by Fool's Theory — the studio also building the Witcher 1 remake — with CDPR overseeing.
If you're planning a replay of Witcher 3 before Witcher 4 (and you should be), our guides are ready for you: best builds, best armor and weapons, the complete contracts list, and a beginner's guide for new players.
Development: Who's Building It, and How's It Going?
- Size: over 400 developers on Polaris as of 2025 — the largest team CDPR has ever fielded, and the studio says it "needed" the Witcher 3 community modding tools release in 2025 to help train new staff on the franchise.
- The team: veteran leadership from the original trilogy is in place, and CDPR has been poaching aggressively — notable 2025–2026 hires include Alice Severova (producer on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2) and a senior animator from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- Pipeline: CDPR runs a "live" pre-production + full production model, and confirmed in 2025 that the game is playable end-to-end on internal builds.
- Sister projects: the Witcher 1 remake (Fool's Theory, UE5) is in development alongside it, and CDPR's original IP Hadar is pre-production. Polaris is the priority.
FAQ
Is The Witcher 4 coming out in 2026?
No. CD Projekt Red has explicitly said the game will not launch in 2026. Current analyst forecasts point to Q4 2027.
Who is the protagonist of The Witcher 4?
Ciri, in her full witcher form — she took the Trial of the Grasses. Geralt appears "in some capacity" (with Doug Cockle returning to voice him).
What engine does The Witcher 4 use?
Unreal Engine 5 (a custom CDPR fork), replacing the studio's own REDengine.
What platforms will The Witcher 4 be on?
PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC are confirmed. Switch 2 has not been confirmed.
Is there gameplay footage of The Witcher 4?
Not yet. The December 2024 trailer was a cinematic pre-render. A major gameplay reveal is expected at gamescom on August 25, 2026.
How long will The Witcher 4 be?
Not confirmed. CDPR has said the map is comparable to The Witcher 3's, with a denser, more vertical world — and The Witcher 3's main story is roughly 50–60 hours.
Is The Witcher 4 connected to the "Songs of the Past" expansion?
Yes — Songs of the Past (the Witcher 3 expansion announced May 2026) is being positioned by CDPR as the narrative bridge into The Witcher 4.
Will The Witcher 4 have multiplayer?
No — it's a single-player RPG, and CDPR has repeatedly said so.
Related Reading
- The Best Witcher 3 Builds (2026) — every playstyle, ranked
- Witcher 3 Best Armor & Weapons (2026) — where to find top gear
- Witcher 3 All Contracts Hub — the complete contract list
- The Witcher 3: Beginner's Guide & Tips — new to the series? Start here
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