CD Projekt RED talks about the switch to Unreal Engine 5 for The Witcher 4. The aim is to create an even more breathtaking open world than previous games.
CD Projekt RED is thinking big for The Witcher 4. Two weeks after the web burst into flames announcing a new chapter in the saga, the Polish studio made a small appearance at the Unreal Engine 5 conference.
The Witcher 4 and Unreal Engine 5
As we know, the next episode marks a turning point for the saga. New story, new characters, but not only. CD Projekt will be ditching its in-house engine, REDengine 4, in favor of Epic Games’, and there’s good reason for that choice. We can already understand why from the various technical demos shown, but the studio has been talking about this change.
CTO Paweł Zawodny explained that the studio aims to take the open world of The Witcher 4 and its upcoming releases to a whole new level. And to achieve its ambitions, CDPR has already started testing the engine and is very enthusiastic.
Create an extraordinary open world
« It was open world development that led us to Unreal Engine 5. It opens a whole new chapter for us. We can’t wait to see how our experience in developing open world games will combine with the technical prowess of Epic. “, he explained. CD Projekt RED is also betting on UE5 to try and overcome one of the biggest challenges in creating an open-world game: all the problems and bugs that come with creating such a world.
What you need to be aware of is that a lot of things can go wrong. The scenarios you need to consider are significantly larger than linear games. Players are free to explore content and approach in any order. You need a really stable environment to be able to make changes in peace, knowing that everything won’t break in 1600 other places.
– Jason Slama, Studio Game Director
In other words, CD Projekt RED hopes to ensure smooth development for The Witcher 4. And arguably to avoid repeating the same mistakes made with Cyberpunk 2077. The end goal: ” end up creating something extraordinary “. We’ll have to wait a few more years to see if this choice pays off or not.
