Polish video game developer CD Projekt RED has confirmed that its upcoming fantasy action role-playing game The Witcher 4 will be released in 2028.
The announcement establishes a launch window for the long-awaited title, which serves as the opening chapter in a planned new trilogy within the fantasy franchise.
Official confirmation of a new Witcher project first came in March 2022, before Warsaw-based CD Projekt RED announced the start of full production in January 2024. Fans received a first look at the title on December 13, 2024, when the studio debuted an initial trailer during The Game Awards ceremony, followed by the formal release date confirmation in 2026.
The upcoming title follows a long history for the franchise, which began with the release of The Witcher in 2007 and was last expanded in 2015 with the critically acclaimed main entry The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Development timeline and working title
The game will mark the beginning of a three-part saga, though developer details surrounding its final naming structure evolved during early production. The project originally operated under the internal code name Project Polaris.
During initial development, CD Projekt RED public relations director Radek Grabowski emphasized that the studio did not plan to title the release The Witcher 4. Despite that early guidance, gaming media outlets and online fan forums widely adopted the numerical name for convenience.
The studio subsequently embraced the informal title, officially announcing the game as The Witcher 4, though an official subtitle for the project has not yet been revealed.
New protagonist and the Lynx School
The storyline of The Witcher 4 directly continues the events of the third game, shifting the central focus to an adult Ciri. Visual evidence from the debut trailer shows Ciri with yellow witcher eyes, indicating that she underwent the trial of the grasses ritual, a procedure previously considered lost in the lore of earlier games.
Trailer footage also highlights a medallion shaped like a lynx head around Ciri's neck. This signifies her membership in the Lynx School, departing from the Wolf School associated with previous series protagonist Geralt of Rivia.
The Lynx School does not appear in the original Witcher fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski or in the first three video games. Instead, the school originates from fan-created fiction published online, which describes it as being established by the witcher Lambert and the sorceress Keira Metz after they chose to travel together following the Battle of Kaer Morhen, the mountain fortress of the Wolf School.
The six witcher schools of the fantasy universe
While Sapkowski's original books mention little about witcher training institutions, CD Projekt RED expanded the lore to establish six distinct schools across the Continent:
- Cat School: Known for cruel and treacherous witchers who frequently work as hired assassins, relying on agility, flexibility, and heightened aggression resulting from extensive mutations.
- Wolf School: The most famous organization, where witchers tend to be solitary by nature but build strong bonds with peers to execute contracts, balancing swordsmanship, alchemy, and magical Sign abilities while avoiding political intrigue.
- Viper School: Disciplined, secretive, and detached witchers who focus primarily on fighting the spectral Wild Hunt rather than monster hunting, utilizing poisonous blade oils and rapid combat tactics.
- Manticore School: A distant order about which little is known, specializing in high toxin resistance and targeting critical anatomical vulnerabilities on beasts.
- Bear School: Reserved and solitary witchers who favor the northern Skellige archipelago, wearing heavy armor and using powerful strikes alongside ranged weaponry.
- Griffin School: Scholars and combatants who combine medium armor with intellectual tracking skills, emphasizing Sign magic and resistance to magical creature attacks.
Explaining the choice of Ciri as the new lead character, project development head Sebastian Kalemba noted that for as long as he could remember, the team had spoken about Ciri and how much she deserved her own path. Kalemba described Ciri as less calculating than Geralt, driven primarily by her heart, passion, and intuition.
Because Ciri is at the start of her independent career as a monster hunter, Kalemba added that players will have the opportunity to actively shape her personality, development, and approach to combat.
Gameplay mechanics and Kovir setting
CD Projekt RED plans to expand the franchise's signature decision-making mechanics beyond narrative consequences. In the fourth installment, choices will directly influence core gameplay systems, offering deeper skill progression trees similar to mechanics used in the studio's sci-fi role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077.
Developers confirmed that none of the multiple endings from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be treated as mandatory canon for the new storyline. This design approach allows The Witcher 4 to function as a standalone adventure that does not require players to have experience with earlier releases.
The narrative will also move to a fresh geographical setting, taking place in the northern region of Kovir, a territory never before featured in previous game installments.
Trilogy plans and Unreal Engine 5 tech
Initial industry predictions placed the potential release of the game between 2025 and 2027. CD Projekt RED chief executive Michal Nowakowski formally disclosed the 2028 release window in August 2026 ahead of the gamescom trade fair.
While specific release dates for the subsequent two entries in the new trilogy remain unannounced, CD Projekt RED confirmed its intention to release both sequels within six years of the fourth game. Under this schedule, the full trilogy is slated to conclude by 2034.
On a technical level, the development team has retired its proprietary RED Engine, which powered The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077, in favor of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5. Studio executives described the upcoming title as the most massive and promising open-world game ever created in the Witcher universe.
CD Projekt RED also confirmed that the title will not be exclusive to the Epic Games Store and will be available for purchase across competing digital distribution storefronts.
Geralt of Rivia and the upcoming expansion
Prior to the launch of Wild Hunt, developers stated that Geralt's story as a primary protagonist was complete. However, the legendary witcher will remain active within the broader franchise timeline.
In August 2026, CD Projekt RED announced a third major story expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt titled Ballads of the Past, scheduled for release in 2027. The expansion will star Geralt and is expected by industry observers to bridge the narrative gap between the third and fourth games by detailing Ciri's path to becoming a witcher and explaining Geralt's status.
Studio representatives confirmed that Geralt will remain alive during the events of The Witcher 4. Following the December 2024 trailer, CD Projekt RED verified that Geralt will appear in the fourth installment, though the studio noted that it was keeping his exact role secret for the time being.
