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CD Projekt has shared insights into its development strategy for The Witcher 4, revealing a shift from its traditional PC-first approach to a console-first philosophy. This strategic change comes as the studio aims to avoid repeating past technical missteps.

Earlier this month, CD Projekt released an impressive The Witcher 4 tech demo built using Unreal Engine 5, offering fans a glimpse into the game’s future. The demo was captured on PlayStation 5 and ran at a smooth 60 frames per second, showcasing Ciri exploring the previously unseen region of Kovir during a monster-hunting contract.

The level of detail in the tech demo is truly remarkable—setting a new standard for console performance. Ciri and her loyal steed Kelpie move with fluid animation, interacting naturally with NPCs and the environment as they journey through the mountainous terrain of Kovir toward the vibrant port city of Valdrest. At one point, the demo featured over 300 individually animated NPCs in a single market scene, culminating in a preview of Lan Exeter—Kovir's winter capital and key trading hub.

“We’ve always done PC first, pushed the limits, and then tried to scale down,” he said. “This time around, we really want to be more console-first in our development.”

This shift references the significant challenges faced during the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which performed poorly on last-gen consoles and led to Sony temporarily removing the game from the PlayStation Store. In hindsight, CD Projekt acknowledged it should have focused more on optimizing the game for base consoles before release.

After years of patches and improvements, Cyberpunk 2077 has since made a strong comeback—including a successful Nintendo Switch 2 launch—and now CD Projekt is determined not to repeat history.

The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo Screenshots

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With The Witcher 4 still slated for a 2027 release at the earliest, Jakub Knapik, CDPR’s Global Art Director, discussed the benefits of starting with console development before scaling up for PC:

“We wanted to solve certain foundations. It’s logical because it’s easier to scale up than down. Once those visual and technical foundations are set, there’s room to push further. How exactly we’ll use that extra power is another question—we’re CDPR, after all, and we love pushing PCs to their limits.”

Tremblay also reassured PC gamers that the console-first approach doesn’t mean a compromised experience:

“People invest heavily in their hardware, and we want them to get the full potential of the game. We started as a PC company, and we will deliver the best possible experience for PC players. It’s just too early to say what that will look like in The Witcher 4.”

It’s important to note that, due to its Xbox Series X|S release, CD Projekt must ensure the game performs well on both the more powerful Series X and the less capable Series S. While the studio is committed to a target of 60fps across consoles, Tremblay admitted that achieving this on the Series S will be “extremely challenging.”

“We haven’t worked on that yet, but it’s next on our radar. Let’s just say hitting 60fps on the Series S will definitely be a big challenge.”

While the Witcher 4 tech demo does not reflect actual gameplay mechanics and is still very early in development, it clearly illustrates CD Projekt Red’s creative ambition for the title.