The Witcher 4 has been making some waves lately, as developer CD Projekt Red recently revealed a jaw-dropping tech demo of the game. The mind-blowing Unreal Engine 5 graphics make The Witcher 4 an exciting promise, but that isn’t all CD Projekt Red has up its sleeve.
In addition to The Witcher 4, a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is also in the works. Even more exciting, Cyberpunk 2077‘s sequel has officially entered pre-production, meaning that the dystopian RPG is making strong progress. Between The Witcher 4 and a brand-new Cyberpunk 2077 chapter, CD Projekt clearly has its hands full. While thrilling, it also raises concerns about the gap between releases. As game development gets more complex, projects are taking longer to complete. Thankfully, CD Projekt Red may have a solution to avoiding long stretches of time between games.
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The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2077’s Sequel May Launch Closer Together Than Anticipated
CD Projekt Red’s Two Main Teams
- CD Projekt Red boasts a developer staff of 730 people.
- 96 of those devs are working on Cyberpunk 2077‘s sequel.
- The majority, if not all remaining devs, are believed to be working on The Witcher 4.
With The Witcher 4 next on the list for CD Projekt Red’s release schedule, it makes sense for the majority of the company’s developers to be hard at work on the anticipated new chapter. However, the fact that there are already almost 100 devs working on Cyberpunk 2077‘s next entry is incredibly promising.
The Witcher 4 was revealed at the 2024 Game Awards.
The size of the teams may differ greatly, but even with 100 people, a lot of work can get done as the team slowly begins to grow. CD Projekt Red has yet to officially announce a release window for The Witcher 4, but speculation has led many to believe that 2027 at the earliest is likely. If that’s the case, then it’s highly possible that The Witcher 4 could be a launch title for the next console generation, but only time will tell.
Even if gamers don’t get to experience The Witcher 4 until 2027, this means that the wait for Cyberpunk 2077‘s sequel is going to be even longer. Of course, this was expected, but it’s still daunting to think about just how many years it could be until a fresh version of Night City gets to see the light of day. However, with both of CD Projekt Red’s teams working in tandem, the studio could be gearing up to bring gamers a thrilling one-two punch in a short span of time.
Between The Witcher 4 and a brand-new Cyberpunk 2077 chapter, CD Projekt clearly has its hands full.
The Witcher 4 will follow Ciri this time around. Geralt is confirmed to still be in the game, but not as the protagonist.
Cyberpunk 2077 May Be On The Witcher 4’s Tail
The Witcher 4 will likely be out a few years before the Cyberpunk 2077 successor launches, but those years don’t have to be long. There was a five-year gap between The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and while that’s still probable, there’s also the chance that the wait between releases could be more like three to four years.
Of course, this is merely speculation, but it’s clear that CD Projekt Red is making sure Cyberpunk 2077‘s sequel team has plenty of devs on board early on, and that could make development more efficient. After Cyberpunk 2077‘s notoriously troubled launch, heads of the company are probably taking measures to ensure that its sequel is in a far better state at launch, and if the team gets thrown into full production in the next year or so, The Witcher 4 and the next Cyberpunk 2077 may be closer than originally expected.