CD Projekt RED has revealed some crucial details about the next installment in The Witcher game franchise, internally codenamed Polaris. The upcoming role-playing game that is expected to surpass the gaming standards set by The Witcher 3: The Hunt Wild first made the headlines when CDPR’s Global PR Director Radek Grabowski dropped the news of “a new Witcher saga” in May 2022.
A workforce of 400 developers is going to be assigned to Polaris. The game is slated to enter the production phase in the middle of 2024. As exciting as it sounds, CDPR has also revealed that The Witcher 4 will be AAA (a high-budget game) and the first part of a trilogy.
Will The Next Witcher Game Be Named ‘The Witcher 4: Polaris?’
CDPR’s Radek Grabowski clarified that the company is yet to decide a name for the upcoming Witcher game. So, the next game may not officially be called The Witcher 4 or Polaris. The Global PR Director did reveal that the game will be built on the current-gen Unreal Engine 5 after partnering with EPIC Games.
The Witcher 4 Polaris (as fan-stated) will be exclusive to EPIC Games Store at launch. However, this doesn’t mean it will be exclusive to a single store as confirmed by Radek later in a tweet on X. You can expect it to be launched on consoles following its PC release.
Although there is no news on the story for The Witcher 4, the teaser image of the game has led fans to speculate on what they could expect.
The Witcher 4 Polaris Release Date & What To Expect From The Story
CDPR stated that The Witcher Polaris will be the beginning of a new saga. Fans are a bit concerned about the story for the game, given that Wild Hunt concluded Geralt’s storyline and concluded what was heavily based on author Andrzej Sapkowski’s namesake novels.
The only source of speculation for the story of The Witcher 4 is the teaser image where fans can see a medallion shaped after a lynx. Ciri, the child of the Elder Blood, used to wear a similar medallion that was taken from Vesemir after the latter’s death. According to widespread speculations, Ciri could be the protagonist in the upcoming ‘new saga’ of The Witcher games.
The School of the Lynx is also a part of The Witcher universe. As per its origin story, Lambert and Keira Metz formed the school from the remaining members of the School of Cat, and after the dispersion of School of the Wolf members like Eskel, Geralt, and Lambert following Vesemir’s death. Could this mean the story for Polaris will be based on a new school of witchers?
Speaking of the potential release date for The Witcher 4 Polaris, the highly-anticipated AAA title is expected to be launched in 2025 or 2026. The next trilogy of games could span beyond the 2030s.