CD Projekt Targets Rapid Turnaround For Next Witcher Trilogy

CD Projekt is advancing an aggressive plan to release The Witcher 4, 5, and 6 within a six-year span, setting one of the most ambitious timelines yet for a modern AAA series. The comments come as full production on The Witcher 4 continues to expand, with nearly 450 developers now assigned to the project.

The company confirmed the target during a recent financial call, where joint CEO Michał Nowakowski emphasized the studio’s intention to move faster than in past cycles. Nowakowski said the shift to Unreal Engine 5 underpins the strategy. He noted that the team has been working with the engine for close to four years, giving developers a long runway to adapt tools and workflows for a large open-world game. According to him, the transition has stabilized, and the studio is confident in the engine’s evolution under Epic Games. That confidence forms the basis for the proposed release pattern across all three titles.

“We’ve been using UE5 for The Witcher 4 for almost four years now, and we’re very happy with what we’ve achieved… and we’re happy with how the engine is evolving through the Epic team’s efforts, and how we are learning how to make it work within a huge open-world game, as TW4 is meant to be.” — Michał Nowakowski

A second statement expanded on the expected development cadence.

“In a way, yes, I do believe that further games should be delivered in a shorter period of time — as we had stated before, our plan still is to launch the whole trilogy within a six-year period, so yes, that would mean we would plan to have a shorter development time between TW4 and TW5, between TW5 and TW6 and so on.” — Michał Nowakowski

If the schedule holds, the trilogy’s launches would land at roughly three-year intervals. The Witcher 4 is not expected before 2027, which places The Witcher 5 around 2030 and The Witcher 6 near 2033. The outline reflects a decisive break from earlier pacing: The Witcher 3 arrived four years after The Witcher 2, while major CD Projekt releases since then have stretched across long development arcs.

The plan arrives during a volatile moment for large-scale game production. Industry delays have become routine as studios navigate expanding technical demands, shifting platforms, and labor constraints. Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 6, announced in 2018, remains years away. Microsoft’s Fable reboot will appear no earlier than 2026 after a similarly extended runway. Releases such as Ghost of Tsushima and its successor illustrate how even stable franchises face significant gaps between installments.

CD Projekt’s roadmap must also contend with a pending console transition. Hardware cycles could intersect with The Witcher 4’s final development stages or its post-launch period. A shift in platforms would carry implications for asset production, optimization, and support. Broader economic uncertainties add further unpredictability to a six-year slate.

Parallel projects intensify the challenge. The studio continues work on Cyberpunk 2, which trails The Witcher 4 in production but remains a major commitment. A remake of the first Witcher game is also in progress through an external partnership. Other initiatives tied to the company’s properties, including non-game ventures, remain active. Balancing those efforts while accelerating release timelines marks a significant test of CD Projekt’s current structure.

Despite the scale, the company signals confidence. Internal focus has shifted heavily toward The Witcher 4, reinforced by its recent Unreal Engine 5 tech demo. The footage, shown at Unreal Fest earlier this year, highlighted environmental systems and early rendering features. CD Projekt cautioned that the game will not appear at The Game Awards and remains several years from launch, but said the reveal reflects tangible progress.

Whether the full trilogy can meet the proposed window remains uncertain. The target compresses production cycles at a moment when large RPGs often require sustained iteration. Still, if the studio maintains momentum and avoids major setbacks, fans could see the most rapid succession of Witcher titles in the franchise’s history.

Read also, an update on a new project from former CD Projekt developers: Rebel Wolves’ latest breakdown of The Blood of Dawnwalker shows how its dual human-and-vampire structure changes mission flow, contrasting daylight infiltration with nocturnal power. The overview offers the clearest look yet at how shifting identities and time-of-day systems shape its encounters and pacing.