The Witcher 4 was officially announced, but when the game will actually be released remains a mystery.
CD Projekt Red's gritty RPG series is ready to make its triumphant return, as the latest entry into the long-running fantasy franchise was unveiled at the 2024 Game Awards.
This new addition to the franchise will join the likes of the Witcher Netflix series (which is awaiting its Season 4 release date) and an ongoing remake project of the first Witcher game headed up by Baldur's Gate 3 support studio Fool's Theory.
The Witcher 4 Officially Unveiled
After years of knowing a fourth game in The Witcher franchise was on the way, fans finally got a glimpse of it, lining The Witcher 4 up for its eventual release.
Debuted via an in-engine trailer at the 2024 Game Awards, developer CD Projekt Red pulled the curtain back on the latest entry into the long-running Witcher franchise, showing off new protagonist Ciri as she took on a mission to hunt down one of the series' iconic monsters.
The trailer came with no specific release timing, simply unveiling the game to the public and nothing more.
This came following years of news that the CD Projekt Red team was working on the next game in the Witcher series; however, it was only known as Project Polaris as opposed to its proper title, The Witcher 4.
Days before its Game Awards reveal, the studio announced that The Witcher 4 had entered full production, meaning a release may still be far off.
Witcher 4 game director Sebastian Kalemba posted on X (formerly Twitter), telling fans, "I'm thrilled to announce that Project Polaris has entered the full-scale production phase:"
"I'm thrilled to announce that 'Project Polaris' has entered the full-scale production phase! With new challenges just around the corner, it’s the talented and hard-working people who make me believe we can together make the upcoming Witcher Saga a remarkable experience. No stopping now! Stay tuned for what’s on the other side of the coin."
When Will The Witcher 4 Be Released?
While The Witcher 4 only just went into full production, it has been in development at the studio for several years.
According to reporting from IGN, The Witcher 4 development pre-dates May 2022, as the studio announced, at that time, that the game had officially entered pre-production.
That means that as of the game's official reveal, it had been in development in some form for at least the last two-and-a-half years.
For comparison, CD Projekt Red's last RPG epic, Cyberpunk 2077, went into full development only after The Witcher 3's first expansion, Blood and Wine, was released in May 2016 (via IGN). Cyberpunk was not released until four years later, in December 2020.
So, if The Witcher 4 went into full production in December 2024, fans should not expect the game to be released until 2027 at the earliest (but more likely in 2028).
That only takes into account past precedents from the Witcher studio. However, as fans know, development cycles for tentpole games like The Witcher have been ever-slowly ballooning over the last decade and have changed.
Looking at a game like Grand Theft Auto 6, which, whenever it does eventually come out, will mark more than a decade since the last game from the GTA team (read more about GTA 6's release date).
While a 2027 or 2028 release projection for The Witcher 4 may be sound, the game could take even longer if recent industry trends are anything to go by.
The Witcher 4 has no publicly listed release date.
