The next entry in CD Projekt Red’s highly successful video game adaptation of The Witcher series is already in the planning stages. The developer’s CEO, Adam Kicinski, broke the news while speaking to Polish press and said the developer already has a small team working on a concept for another single-player title that is awaiting further development.
Once the studio finishes work on Cyberpunk 2077, which is set to release on September 17, it will reorganize to start work on the next game in The Witcher franchise. CD Projekt Red will divide into three internal teams with the largest group working on a multiplayer mode of Cyberpunk 2077 and another creating additions to the base game. The smallest of the three teams will start work on the developer’s next role-playing game.
Kicinski stresses that the next title is not The Witcher 4 as the adventures of Geralt of Rivia was always meant to be a trilogy. He also reiterated that the studio wants to continue creating stories within that universe in addition to what it is currently doing with Cyberpunk 2077. “All planned games are either Witcher or Cyberpunk,” the studio head said.
Despite the latest title in The Witcher series entering development later this year, fans will still have to wait quite some time. Kicinski quickly shot the idea of a quick turnaround of its next ambitious RPG down when asked. He added the studio’s projects always last four to five years and that it’d be “difficult to imagine” it releasing any sooner than that as they want to prioritize quality. CD Projekt Red Vice President of Finance Piotr Nielubowicz also chimed in on the next title’s development by saying that it will take less commitment than Cyberpunk 2077 as they’re working in a world they’ve already established rather than crafting one from the ground up.
CD Projekt Red originally released The Witcher in 2007. Based upon the Polish novels of the same name, the RPG received critical praise upon release. The company followed it up with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in 2011 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015 to even more commercial and critical acclaim. Cyberpunk 2077 will mark its first game outside of the fantasy universe.
