CD Projekt Red will begin development on a new entry in The Witcher series immediately after Cyberpunk 2077 releases on September 17, 2020. With a recent delay to Cyberpunk 2077, the game will have taken nearly a decade to launch since its original announcement in May 2012, and CD Projekt Red clearly does not plan on wasting any time before beginning their next title.
Known for their sprawling worlds, deep character development, and intricate narrative webs, the Polish studio seeks to get a head start on the next entry in the critically-acclaimed The Witcher series. This will be the latest title in the franchise since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015. The new game is expected to launch on next-gen consoles, which comes at an opportune time due to the power afforded by new hardware and Sony's recent statements on wanting the PS5 to support massive single-player experiences.
During a recent interview with Eurogamer Poland (thanks, GamesRadar+) company president Adam Kiciński confirmed development for the next entry in The Witcher franchise will begin "immediately" after Cyberpunk 2077's release later this year. He said that a "relatively clear concept" has already been formed and that this new Witcher game will not be a direct sequel to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so fans should not expect "4" to be in the game's title. Additionally, Kiciński reveals that all the games they currently have planned will not deviate from either Cyberpunk's or The Witcher's lore-rich universes.
CD Projekt Red has skyrocketed to become the second-most valuable game company in Europe, now worth over $8 billion. This is due in part to the relatively unexpected and explosive popularity of the Netflix original television show, The Witcher, which not only found success with TV audiences but also drove an influx of new interest towards the games. Additionally, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was recently ported to the Nintendo Switch and has received popular updates including cross-platform cloud saves and graphical tweaks.
Experiences such as the ones developed by CD Projekt Red are few and far between. The studio painstakingly constructs massive worlds brimming with deep, interconnected stories. The development cycles they undertake are not for the faint of heart, Cyberpunk 2077 being a prime example, but their games showcase just how much effort the company invests in their craft and their fans. CD Projekt Red doesn't seem to be giving up any time soon, and players can likely look forward to a new, next-gen The Witcher game in the future... hopefully not eight years from now.
Source: Eurogamer Poland (via GamesRadar+)