CD Projekt Red has confirmed during its latest earnings call that The Witcher 4 will not release before 2027. This means the next entry in the Witcher series could potentially arrive in 2028 or later, following a similar pattern to the long development cycle of Cyberpunk 2077.
The studio has significantly expanded its capacity in recent years and is currently working on multiple projects, including a remake of the first Witcher game, a multiplayer Witcher project codenamed Sirius, The Witcher 4, and a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. One of CDPR’s stated goals is to reduce the long gaps between its major releases, but the timeline for its upcoming projects suggests this remains a challenge.
Over the past four months, the Polish developer has hired over 50 new employees to support its various projects. Of these, 11 new hires joined the team working on The Witcher 4, bringing the total number of developers on the project to 411. While The Witcher 4 is the only game currently in full production, CDPR has also increased staffing for its other projects, including the Cyberpunk sequel, codenamed Orion, which saw its team grow from 64 to 84 members.
Although The Witcher 4 was announced with immeasurable hype on all fronts, no gameplay footage has been shown yet, and updates on the project like its release remain limited. CDPR’s 2024 fiscal year earnings report also highlighted the ongoing success of Cyberpunk 2077, which has sold over 30 million copies to date. The game’s critically acclaimed Phantom Liberty expansion has sold an additional 8 million copies, further solidifying the franchise’s popularity.
The Witcher 4 is still in production, so a gameplay trailer is far away, with other major titles like the multiplayer Witcher project, the Witcher remake, the Cyberpunk sequel, and a new IP codenamed Hadar still in earlier stages of development. CDPR is also collaborating with Fool’s Theory on the Witcher remake and has several unannounced projects in the works.