Michał Nowakowski, joint-CEO of CD Projekt RED, has shed light during an appearance on the Deconstructor of Fun podcast on why the developer decided to switch from Red Engine to Unreal Engine 5 for The Witcher IV and beyond.
He explained that one of the main goals for CDPR is to develop “convincing and immersive” games supported by strong narratives, and isn’t keep to spend a lot of time and resources working on its own game engine.
It was more the moment we got an early scoop of the Matrix demo that Epic made and we then asked ourselves is the UE5 ready to ship a game like we make… the answer is no not at the moment not at the entry level but if we form a relationship with Unreal and if we work on certain things which are specifically required to make games of the size and scope… it could actually work.
Our goal was not really to create technology but to tell stories. But then we realized that in order to tell the stories the way we want to tell them, we do need to have the technology,” he added. “[By using Unreal Engine 5] we’re not going to be responsible for creating the technology from scratch but rather creating for that technology little things that actually make a big difference.
CDPR is currently developing The Witcher IV and Cyberpunk 2 on the Unreal Engine 5, and recently stated that the former is pencilled in for a 2028 launch window.
The Witcher IV was originally announced during The Game Awards 2024 with a cinematic trailer, and revealed that Ciri will be replacing Geralt as the main protagonist – something that Geralt actor Doug Cockle fully supports. The role has been recast for The Witcher IV however, with Jo Wyatt replaced by Ciara Berkeley.
CDPR has also teamed up with Fool’s Theory for a full remake of The Witcher, which set to arrive after The Witcher IV; as such, the project is currently on the back burner as Fool’s Theory is waiting on “technological dependencies” for the new game.
[Source – Deconstructor of Fun via MP1st]