Summary
- The Witcher 4, unlike Cyberpunk 2077, will prioritize console performance and won't be treated as an afterthought by CD Projekt Red.
- CDPR is adopting a platform-inclusive approach for The Witcher 4, with demos and internal performance reviews already being conducted on consoles.
- The studio learned from the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077 and aims to ensure that The Witcher 4 offers acceptable console performance at launch to avoid similar issues.
The Witcher 4 won't leave consoles as an afterthought the way Cyberpunk 2077 did, a senior CD Projekt Red official has revealed. This claim was offered as part of a wider retrospective on how the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077 is informing CDPR's future projects.
Not much has been revealed about the fourth mainline installment in The Witcher series since CDPR confirmed in 2022 that the game itself is happening. Based on the few tidbits that the studio shared over the next year, The Witcher 4 is code-named Polaris and won't actually have a number in its title, on top of being planned to release before the upcoming remake of the original The Witcher game from 2007.
Witcher, Cyberpunk Will Keep Expanding Beyond Video Games
CD Projekt Red talks about its future plans for The Witcher and Cyberpunk series, confirming both will continue expanding beyond video games.
And while the development of The Witcher 4 remains shrouded in mystery, CDPR Management and Audio Engineering Director Colin Walder has now shed some light on one notable aspect of the project; during his recent appearance at the ninth Inven Game Conference in Pangyo, South Korea, Walder revealed that CDPR adopted a much more platform-inclusive approach to the development of project Polaris.
Specifically, the studio is already running demos and internal performance reviews on consoles, the official revealed. Walder acknowledged how console testing is something CDPR only started doing during the later stages of Cyberpunk 2077's development, with less than ideal results, to put it mildly.
The Witcher 4 should consequently do a much better job at offering acceptable console performance at launch compared to Cyberpunk 2077. That's all the more important given how the upcoming title might end up being another cross-gen release for CDPR. As a reminder, the technical issues plaguing Cyberpunk 2077 at launch largely stemmed from the game's PS4 and Xbox One versions, both of which struggled to maintain a stable frame rate, among other problems. The fiasco ended up being a costly mistake for CDPR, with the company recently revealing that fixing Cyberpunk 2077 set the developer back over $126 million.
Granted, since the game broke even on pre-orders alone—selling 8 million units ahead of release—and surpassed 25 million sales come October 2023, its disastrous launch was ultimately a mistake whose fix CDPR was able to afford. However, the studio has long been open about the fact that repairing its relationship with the fandom following Cyberpunk 2077's release will take much longer. Ensuring that it doesn't make the same mistakes moving forward is an inherent part of that ongoing process, with Walder suggesting as much during his recent appearance in South Korea.
The Witcher 4 is currently in development.
Source: Inven Global