The Witcher 4 Update Reveals Potential Next-Gen Release

The Witcher 4 is probably a PS6 and next Xbox game.

By Tyler Fischer

A new update out of Polish developer CD Projekt Red has shed light on the release of The Witcher 4, the tentative placeholder name for the next installment in The Witcher series. To this end, it looks like The Witcher 4 will be a PS6 and next Xbox game. The recent update out CDPR wasn't a beefy update, but it did divulge a salient detail about the project, which is that it has entered full production after a lengthy period in pre-production. There is no word from CDPR when The Witcher 4 will release, but this timetable gives us a very good idea of exactly that. 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt entered production in 2011 before shipping in 2015. Cyberpunk 2077 was in production from 2016 to 2020 when it released. In other words, 2028 seems like a very safe bet for The Witcher 4 if previous timetables are anything to go by. If it does release in 2028 it will likely be a cross-gen release. Based on a combination of leaked Microsoft documents and reporting from a variety sources, the next-gen consoles are releasing in 2028.

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What is interesting about this prospect is the fact that this is what happened with Cyberpunk 2077, and it did not go down well for the game. The game had a very difficult time running on the Xbox One and PS4 due to a mixture of its ambitions and optimization. This was a major part of the game's very rocky start in life. CD Projekt Red could run into a similar problem if all these dates line and match up.

That said, right now all we have is speculation. Video game development has gotten lengthier since 2011 – 2015 and even 2016 to 2020. As a result, it is possible this project takes five or six years, pushing it to 2029 or 2030. For what it is worth, Cyberpunk 2077's release my suggest as much as well. Not only will CD Projekt Red want to take its time to deliver on launch day this time, but the reports were Cyberpunk 2077 was rushed out the door at least a year earlier than it should have been. Whatever the case, The Witcher 4 is no doubt going to be a next-gen game. The question is whether its release schedule will permit it to be a current-gen game as well. 

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