Five new The Witcher games were recently announced, including a completely new trilogy with a new story – all with cryptic project names, which of course can hide anything. But at least we have clarity on one project: The ominous Canis Majoris will be a genuine remake of The Witcher 1, the debut from 2007.
The communicated CD Projekt RED on current occasion: The classic is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, so the publisher lets the curtain fall. However, CD Projekt will not be developing the game itself – that will be done by a newly founded studio called Fool’s Theory, consisting of various ex-Witcher veterans. CD Projekt boss Adam Badowski comments on the development in the official press release:
It all started for us, for CD Projekt RED, with The Witcher. It was the first game we ever made – and it was a big moment for us back then. Going back to that place and redeveloping the game for the next generation of gamers to experience feels just as big, if not bigger. Working with Fool’s Theory on this project is also exciting as some of the people there have worked on The Witcher games before. They know the source material well, they know how much players have been looking forward to the remake, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games. And while it will be some time before we can reveal more about and from the game, I know it will be worth the wait.
Adam Badowski, CD Projekt RED
What do we know about the remake?
There is still little information about the remake. The original announcement of the new Witcher games talked about an open-world single-player experience, but that can mean a lot on a spectrum: either the remake is set like the original in a comparatively small setting around Vizima, or it takes place in a much larger open world. We also don’t know anything about the gameplay adjustments yet.
Project Canis Majoris, like all new Witcher projects, is being developed in Unreal Engine 5, but so far there is only the following picture:
When is The Witcher 1 remake coming out?
However, the release period can be narrowed down a bit. According to CD Projekt, the game is in an early stage and should be released after The Witcher 4 or Project Polaris – and since this is roughly scheduled for two years, a release period of 2025 or 2026 would be realistic. We can do math.
Incidentally, here in the editorial office there are definitely one or two people who consider The Witcher 1 to be the best Witcher ever. So we are very excited to see what the new studio can get out of the classic. What do you think?
