The Witcher 4 Gets a 2028 Target, but It Won’t Show Up at Gamescom
More than 500 developers are working on the Ciri-led RPG, which is in full-scale production, while The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past is planned for 2027.
The Witcher 4 now has a 2028 release target, but CD Projekt Red’s next RPG will not appear at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski announced the window on August 24, while stressing that the studio is not ready to share a specific release date.
More than 500 developers are working on the new Witcher saga, and production has reached full scale alongside CD Projekt Red’s other games. Ciri will take the lead role, with CD Projekt Red describing The Witcher 4 as its biggest and most ambitious game so far. The studio has also pointed to a large open world, action-focused gameplay, and a story designed to leave a lasting impression.
Nowakowski delivered the update in a video message shared through the official Witcher account. He said, “The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release window. I know it’s a bit of a wait and you’d love to play it sooner, but let the team cook. It will be worth the wait.”
To our beloved fans, players, and community:As we near #gamescom in just a few days, CD PROJEKT RED Joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski would like to personally invite YOU to join us there, and hear about the future of The Witcher franchise!
Gamescom 2026 will spotlight The Witcher 3
The message also confirmed that The Witcher 4 will not be part of Gamescom Opening Night Live. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past will receive a full showing during the August 25 presentation instead, followed by a larger presentation at CD Projekt Red’s booth and daily REDstreams throughout the convention. The expansion gives the franchise a presence at the event without revealing more of its next mainline game.
The Witcher 4’s first public release window
Before this announcement, CD Projekt Red had only confirmed that The Witcher 4 would not launch in 2026 and had declined to provide a target, while saying the new trilogy was planned to arrive across six years. The 2028 window now gives players the first broad timeframe, although the studio has not narrowed it to a specific month or quarter or named a release day.
Songs of the Past is planned to launch in 2027, putting the expansion on the calendar before CD Projekt Red’s new trilogy begins with The Witcher 4. The earlier release will give fans another piece of Witcher content while the larger project remains in development.
What CD Projekt Red has shown of The Witcher 4
CD Projekt Red announced the new Witcher saga in March 2022 alongside its move from REDengine to Unreal Engine 5. The project was internally known as Project Polaris at the time, and the announcement featured a snow-covered Witcher medallion alongside the message “A New Saga Begins.”
A cinematic trailer shown at The Game Awards 2024 confirmed Ciri as the new protagonist. It follows her taking a contract in a village where a young woman is being prepared for a ritual sacrifice, presenting Ciri as a professional monster slayer instead of bringing Geralt back as the central character.
At State of Unreal in June 2025, CD Projekt Red and Epic Games presented a technology demonstration built around Ciri and her horse, Kelpie. The sequence traveled through Kovir before reaching the port town of Valdrest and ran at 60 FPS on a base PlayStation 5. Kovir has appeared in Witcher lore before, but The Witcher 4 will give the region its first explorable role in the game series.
CD Projekt Red presented the footage as representative of the game’s eventual look. After some viewers treated it as a reveal, the studio clarified that the demonstration was not The Witcher 4 itself, but a showcase of the foundation, core systems, and features being developed with Epic Games in Unreal Engine 5.
The presentation also featured FastGeo Streaming, Nanite Foliage, Unreal’s Mass system for crowds, MetaHuman technology, and a new animation framework. The companies have been developing Unreal Engine tools together since announcing their partnership in 2022.
The State of Unreal footage was a technology demonstration rather than a playable slice of The Witcher 4, so the 2028 target remains the clearest new information about the game’s launch.
For now, the team’s focus remains on building the new Ciri-led saga. With the project still targeting 2028, more information about its story, systems, and eventual release plans may arrive before the game reaches players.
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The Witcher IV
Developed by CD Projekt RED
