Developer CD Projekt Red revealed that The Witcher 4 is finally in full production, noting that it is the primary and most intense stage of development.
The announcement was made as part of the studio's third-quarter financial update and talked about Polaris, which is known to fans as the fourth entry in The Witcher franchise.
The shift to full production is major as CD Projekt Red had a full-page slide for the announcement.
The Witcher 4
Chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz said that Polaris entered full-scale production a few weeks ago. He added that The Witcher 4 is the furthest along in development among all of its projects that are being worked on.
The other projects that were mentioned during the announcement include Orion, which is the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, and Sirius which is a The Witcher spinoff.
Another one is Hadar, which is a third and entirely unique project that was originally announced in 2022, according to PCGamer.
CEO Michael Nowakowski also explained the reason behind the slightly reduced number of developers who were working on Polaris. This was because it reflected a natural transition as they completed the game's pre-production phase.
This led them to adjust the team size in order to meet the current needs of the production phase. Nowakowski added that they were able to develop key aspects of The Witcher 4 during the pre-production phase.
Game director Sebastian Kalemba has also been talking about the announcement on social media platforms. He excitedly said that there was no stopping the developers now and asked fans to stay tuned for future details, Rock Paper Shotgun.
Entering Full Production
Polaris is said to be the first of a new trilogy of games in The Witcher franchise and is being worked on by more than 400 CD Projekt Red employees. Full production is basically the longer part of the development process.
Kalemba said that the talented and hard-working people developing Polaris are able to bring a remarkable experience to fans of The Witcher franchise. The upcoming game was originally announced in October 2022.
CD Projekt Red said at the time that the game would not be released until 2025 at the earliest. Geralt of Rivia voice actor Doug Cockle said in August 2024 that the White Wolf will come back in Polaris.
The studio had long been saying that Geralt's saga had already ended, which means that a new protagonist was what fans expected. But the voice actor's announcement is the first confirmation that the character is making somewhat of a return, according to IGN.
