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CD Projekt Red says that they have formed a "strategic partnership" with Epic Games as development on the next entry in The Witcher series begins. Today's press announcement does go on to say that this is a "new technology partnership" with Epic Games and not necessarily one that will see this new Witcher game become exclusive to the Epic Games Store.
This new Witcher game will be a follow-up to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. All that was released alongside today's announcement was a teaser image of a medallion and a phrase saying that "A New Saga Begins."
There is no release date. There are no other images. I would have to imagine that things are still in the very early phases for this game given how much time CD Projekt Red has had to dedicate to fixing Cyberpunk 2077 over the past year.
We do know that CD Projekt Red will be making use of Unreal Engine 5. This is part of the "multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games." This marks a rather significant departure from the norm for CD Projekt Red. Since 2011, the studio has been using their own REDengine technology to create games. The studio says that this partnership with Epic covers the licensing, technical development of Unreal Engine 5, and potential future versions of Unreal Engine.
CD Projekt Red says that their developers will be collaborating with developers from Epic to help Unreal Engine 5 be better tailored for open-world experiences.
Speaking on the use of Unreal Engine 5 for this, and future games, CTO of CD PROJEKT RED, Paweł Zawodny stated:
"One of the core aspects of our internal RED 2.0 Transformation is a much stronger focus on technology, and our cooperation with Epic Games is based on this principle. From the outset, we did not consider a typical licensing arrangement; both we and Epic see this as a long-term, fulfilling tech partnership. It is vital for CD PROJEKT RED to have the technical direction of our next game decided from the earliest possible phase as; in the past, we spent a lot of resources and energy to evolve and adapt REDengine with every subsequent game release. This cooperation is so exciting, because it will elevate development predictability and efficiency, while simultaneously granting us access to cutting-edge game development tools. I can’t wait for the great games we’re going to create using Unreal Engine 5!"
"One of the core aspects of our internal RED 2.0 Transformation is a much stronger focus on technology, and our cooperation with Epic Games is based on this principle. From the outset, we did not consider a typical licensing arrangement; both we and Epic see this as a long-term, fulfilling tech partnership. It is vital for CD PROJEKT RED to have the technical direction of our next game decided from the earliest possible phase as; in the past, we spent a lot of resources and energy to evolve and adapt REDengine with every subsequent game release. This cooperation is so exciting, because it will elevate development predictability and efficiency, while simultaneously granting us access to cutting-edge game development tools. I can’t wait for the great games we’re going to create using Unreal Engine 5!"
CD Projekt Red did take a moment to say that while they are moving forward with Unreal Engine 5, they will still make use of REDengine for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 expansions.
And now for the big elephant in the room: Will this new Witcher game be sold exclusively through the Epic Games Store at launch? Well, CD Projekt Red has kind of addressed this...
The response leaves a lot to be desired, though. This could mean that they will release the game on GOG, which CD Projekt Red owns, and the Epic Games Store. This could mean they'll release it on all PC storefronts, including Steam. This could mean that there's a timed exclusive. This could mean a whole lot of things especially when things can change between what is planned and what is set in stone. Plus, you also take into account how some of the statements made about Cyberpunk 2077 didn't really pan out, and well... Maybe let's just see how this all goes. This new game is still probably a few years away at least.
