The Witcher 4 tech demo provided a breathtaking glimpse of what CD Projekt Red maintains is precisely that: a technical demonstration. As reported by IGN, it does not represent actual Witcher 4 gameplay. However, witnessing a demo built in Unreal Engine 5 within The Witcher's universe makes it difficult not to speculate whether it hints at what's to come in a game still years away from launch.

Running at 60 frames per second on a PlayStation 5, the tech demo follows Ciri exploring the previously unseen region of Kovir while on a monster-hunting contract (CD Projekt confirmed Kovir will be a playable area in The Witcher 4).

The demo showcases an extraordinary level of detail, featuring fluid animations that surpass what we've typically seen on current-generation consoles. The movement and interactions of Ciri and her horse, Kelpie, with each other, NPCs, and the environment are particularly impressive as they traverse Kovir's mountains toward the bustling port of Valdrest. In one market scene, CD Projekt increased the NPC count to 300 individually animated characters. The presentation concluded with a first look at Lan Exeter, the winter capital and a major port city within Kovir.

CD Projekt is no stranger to the challenge of managing expectations for a major release, a lesson harshly learned from Cyberpunk 2077's troubled 2020 launch. This history inevitably raises the question: does The Witcher 4 tech demo reflect what the final game will look like?

We posed this question to Kajetan Kapuściński, Cinematic Director at CD Projekt, during Epic's State of Unreal 2025 event. His response was measured, as expected for a game not due until 2027 at the earliest, but he emphasized that the demo "shows our ambition."

Here is Kapuściński's full statement:

“What you saw today is a tech demo powered by Unreal Engine 5, a collaborative project with the Epic team. We created this demonstration to develop technology that will ultimately power The Witcher 4.

“Therefore, it is not direct gameplay from The Witcher 4. What you've seen represents our ambition and the cutting-edge technology we are co-developing to make the game a reality. It also reveals our artistic direction and our intended approach to certain elements.

“However, everything shown is subject to change. This is a snapshot of our current progress. We wanted to share this work with the public. Now, equipped with these tools and possibilities, we are actively developing the game.”

In the same interview, we asked Wyeth Johnson, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Epic Games, if the demo's performance—60fps with ray tracing on a base PS5—sets a realistic benchmark for a final product on that console.

“Absolutely. We must be transparent,” he replied. “The technology we're building must directly meet player expectations, and players across all hardware are demanding superb 60 frames-per-second gameplay.”

Delivering 60fps with ray tracing in a vast open-world game like The Witcher 4 on a base PS5 exceeds typical current-gen console performance. However, Johnson stated that collaborating with CD Projekt on the demo “allowed us to push very rapidly and aggressively towards far higher performance at incredible fidelity.”

This ambition clearly surpasses common expectations for the five-year-old PS5. Players have grown accustomed to the trade-off of ray tracing at 30fps on consoles. But Johnson insisted the console hardware “is incredible” and that there is untapped performance potential.

“The key is to be clever in leveraging that hardware,” he said. “Many of our optimizations involve taking processes that typically happen sequentially and making them parallel. This approach harnesses much more of the hardware's capability.

“Our new Unreal animation framework and fast geometry streaming, which allows seamless traversal at any speed, are designed to work in parallel. This makes it easier to unlock the hardware's potential, and these features are now intrinsic to Unreal Engine.

“It takes time to understand and unlock all the impressive capabilities provided by the hardware manufacturers. You identify bottlenecks and optimize.

“The results are remarkable. Comparing our earlier demos, we see performance improvements of two, three, even ten times with nearly identical visuals. This comes from finding edge cases, improving methods, and deeply integrating those solutions into Unreal's core. Then, brilliant developers like CD Projekt Red can build upon that foundation.”

The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo Screenshots

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Expectations for The Witcher 4 are immense, and fans crave concrete details. Kapuściński remained cautious but offered some clues by analyzing the demo's content.

“If you examine the demo's flow, you can identify elements indicating our direction and the possibilities from our cooperation. For instance, the forest vista uses Nanite foliage. The ability to render such vast, high-fidelity forests unlocks new creative potential.

“Similarly, the Unreal animation framework and optimizations allow for a high density of NPCs on screen. We showcased over 300 animated actors in a crowd scene. These elements, when connected, reveal the scale and detail we are pursuing.”

So, prepare for expansive, intricately detailed forests and bustling, highly populated cities in The Witcher 4!

A major question surrounds the game's target platforms. This PS5 demo suggests a cross-generational release for current and next-gen consoles (PS6 and next Xbox). If it targets current-gen, does that include the less powerful Xbox Series S? It's worth noting Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI is also planned for current-gen consoles, including the Series S. If GTA VI can run on it, perhaps The Witcher 4 can as well.

CD Projekt has indicated The Witcher 4 won’t be released before 2027, so definitive answers may still be some time away.