June 4, 2025
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The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 demo visual

The Witcher 4 Just Got Real — PS5 Demo Shows Stunning Open World at 60FPS

Rachel Markel

New York: After years of speculation, The Witcher 4 is officially in development, and fans just got a major tease. A brand-new Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, shown during the State of Unreal 2025 showcase, revealed just how massive, dynamic, and visually jaw-dropping the next Witcher game could be — even on base PlayStation 5 hardware.

The project, which CD Projekt Red has code-named “Polaris,” is the start of a new Witcher saga. And though we still don’t have a locked-in release date, what we’ve seen so far paints a picture of a next-gen RPG experience built for scale, depth, and raw beauty.

The Demo Everyone’s Talking About

The demo wasn’t technically a trailer for The Witcher 4, but it used CDPR-style assets to show off large-scale open-world streaming at 60 fps on PS5, complete with global illumination, ray tracing, and no loading screens.

This marks a huge leap from REDengine (used in Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077), and aligns with CDPR’s previously confirmed plan to build future RPGs entirely in Unreal Engine 5.

IGN and WCCFTech have both praised the demo for its realism — noting that even dense forests, dynamic skies, and magical effects ran flawlessly on current-gen hardware.

Witcher 4 Release Date: What We Know

CDPR hasn’t confirmed an exact release date yet, but based on investor calls and studio timelines:

  • Development began in 2022
  • Pre-production wrapped in mid-2023
  • Full production is ongoing with a tentative release window of late 2026 or early 2027

CDPR has also stated that The Witcher 4 will not be rushed, especially after learning from Cyberpunk’s launch.

New Characters, New Saga – But Still The Witcher

While Geralt’s arc is widely considered finished, the developers have hinted that The Witcher 4 will:

  • Introduce a new playable protagonist
  • Expand the Continent’s lore with new kingdoms
  • Likely feature returning factions like the Wild Hunt, Scoia’tael, and mages

And yes — there will be monsters, contracts, swordplay, and morally grey dialogue trees. Just more of it, with better AI and immersive combat.

Unreal Engine 5 Changes Everything

Switching from REDengine to Unreal 5 wasn’t just a tech upgrade — it was a philosophical one. The new engine:

  • Allows massive open-world maps with no loading transitions
  • Uses Nanite and Lumen for lighting and texture realism
  • Enables modular terrain, meaning faster expansions and richer updates

If Witcher 3 was a gold standard, Witcher 4 is aiming for platinum.

What Fans Can Expect Next

  • A full reveal trailer may drop in late 2025, around The Game Awards
  • Playable demos are unlikely before 2026

Next-gen only: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. No PS4/Xbox One support expected

Multiplayer or co-op? No confirmation yet, but rumors persist of side modes.