CD Projekt Red is paying close attention to some of the biggest RPG hits lately, and it looks like The Witcher 4 might borrow ideas from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3. Considering how The Witcher 3 set the bar years ago, this is a pretty cool development.
When The Witcher 3 ruled the RPG scene, it was the standard everyone wanted to beat. But now, games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and the upcoming Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 have grabbed the spotlight with their distinct takes on RPG gameplay. These titles bring different flavors—BG3 with its deep character freedom and KCD2 with its hardcore realism—and CDPR seems to be paying close attention.
Adam Badowski, CDPR’s co-CEO, gave an interesting interview to PC Gamer. He gushed about the realism and humor in Kingdom Come: Deliverance and said, “I love Kingdom Come because of the realism, feeling, and sense of humor. The Kingdom Come kind of simulation, it’s great.” He also mentioned how the game’s options and world-changing effects were “super great” and that CDPR wants to follow this trend for The Witcher 4.
Badowski and the team are drawn to the simulation and systems-heavy style of KCD2. They’re watching closely because this direction fits their desire for the next Witcher game. But what about Baldur’s Gate 3? Well, it’s a bit different.
Badowski noted that BG3 has “great characters,” but its freedom of choice sometimes pushes players to use tricks different from those in The Witcher series. He said the teams observe each other since there aren’t many games like these, and players’ reactions to the tactics are fascinating.
CDPR’s other CEO, Nowakowski, added some clarity: “We definitely are not going to make a game like Larian did,” referring to BG3’s developer. “That’s the kind of game they can make. But a lot of stuff with how the characters can interact with the world and what it does was for sure some inspiration to us.” Wow, so they’re taking notes but keeping their own identity.