The Witcher 4 – Everything we know about Polaris so far, release speculation and title
The Witcher 4 – Everything we know about Polaris so far, release speculation and title
The Witcher game series has been a slow burn for many and today, you’re likely skipping the first two iterations in favor of heading straight for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This was the one that set the world alight and since then, anyone who has played it has been clambering for the next adventure.
Naturally, this means The Witcher 4, but will this be a continuation of Geralt’s story or is it a whole new world? Below we reveal all, including any The Witcher 4 release date information, platforms, and any additional details.
The Witcher 4 release date speculation
At this current moment, there is no The Witcher 4 release date but we do have a potential window as to when we can expect this highly anticipated monster-slaying adventure.
In a 2022 investor call, CEO Adam Kicinski stated that the game is “at least three years away”, meaning that The Witcher 4 could be released in 2025. This would mark ten years since the launch of The Witcher 3, so would make it a poignant time to release this new title.
However, while this could be the case, there have been so many games in recent times that have received delays and The Witcher 4 may have also been impacted by this. This would mean a 2026, or even a 2027 launch is conceivable.
What platforms could The Witcher 4 be on?
Since we’re anticipating a 2025 release for The Witcher 4 at the very earliest, we expect that the game will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, as well as the next iteration of PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
If the release date does slip even further though, there is a possibility that the PS5 or Xbox Series X simply don’t have the power for it, and it will strictly be a next-gen game.
Is The Witcher: Polaris a working title?
On that same investor call, we mentioned earlier, Kicinski once more let slip that The Witcher 4 is the ‘Polaris’ game they are working on. Now, game development studios use code names all of the time to add a little secrecy just in case anything goes awry or simply because they just don’t want to announce anything yet.
As for Polaris, we believe this to be the case also, making The Witcher: Polaris a working title rather than what the game will be called come launch.
Is The Witcher 4 using Unreal Engine 5?
Yes, The Witcher 4 will use Unreal Engine 5 instead of the REDengine of CD Projekt RED’s own making. This is a pretty big deviation for the studio since the previously used proprietary engine was used on The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077.
However, the reason may be that this next iteration of The Witcher franchise is the first in the next saga, potentially requiring the ever-evolving Unreal to be the jumping-off point instead of investing more and more into their own tech.
What we do know for sure though is that those at CD Projekt RED are hard at work “learning the technology” and “working together with Epic” to enable as smooth a transition for their “open-world RPGs”.
Is Ciri The Witcher 4’s main character?
Ciri is a fan-favorite character that both players of the video game and readers of the books are eager to take up the mantle as the next Witcher. However, while this could happen, and would make a nice transition from The Witcher 3 to 4, we don’t think it will come to fruition.
The reason why is that even though the medallion shown in the first teaser image is alluding to a Lynx – somewhat of a mix between Geralt’s wolf and School of the Cat, the end of The Witcher 3 makes things tricky.
The Witcher 3 has multiple endings, and in the ‘bad’ ending, Ciri dies. Obviously, this means she wouldn’t be coming back for the fourth title if this occurs, and since it is very possible many got this ending, the continuity between the two sagas just wouldn’t be there.
Now, there’s no saying that this could be retconned with Ciri somehow ‘coming back to life’ but we do doubt this.
Is Geralt in The Witcher 4?
Geralt did receive the full beginning-to-end trilogy treatment with his three games and seemingly got his ‘ending’ in Wild Hunt. However, if you did finish up that title, you’ll know that there is a chance Geralt simply rides off into the sunset, leaving it completely open for a return of the grizzled White Wolf.
This is compounded by statements from CDPR Director Marcin Iwinski in 2013 who confirmed that for The Witcher 3, even though it was the finale in the saga, they would never intend on “killing the world and walking away from it.”
Despite this comment though, The Witcher 4 is the start of a new saga so CDPR might just cut ties and focus on a whole new protagonist.
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