CDPR Confirms Release of The Witcher 4, The Witcher 5, and The Witcher 6 Within Six Years

The news originated from comments made by CD Projekt Red’s Co-CEO, Michał Nowakowski, during a recent earnings call. Here are the key details and interpretations of the plan:

Core Plan: A Trilogy in Six Years
Official Reiteration: During the late November 2025 earnings call, Nowakowski reaffirmed the plan to release the entire new Witcher trilogy starring Ciri (The Witcher 4, The Witcher 5, The Witcher 6) within a six-year timeframe. This goal was initially proposed in October 2022 and has now been emphasized again.

No Imminent Reveal: The company has confirmed that the first title, The Witcher 4, will not be released in 2026 and will not be showcased at the upcoming The Game Awards 2025 ceremony.

Key to Accelerated Development: Unreal Engine 5
The company believes the core enabler for achieving the “trilogy in six years” goal lies in its long-term investment and mastery of Unreal Engine 5 (UE5).

Accumulated Experience: The development team has been using UE5 to develop The Witcher 4 for nearly four years and is satisfied with the results.
Establishing Efficient Pipelines: CDPR aims to establish a highly efficient UE5-based development pipeline during The Witcher 4’s creation. This will allow subsequent titles to reuse technology, processes, and some assets, thereby shortening development cycles.

No Official Release Window Yet
Despite the clear overall timeline, CDPR has not announced an exact release year for The Witcher 4. All current specific year predictions come from industry or media analysis.

Other Major Company Projects
While advancing the new Witcher trilogy, CDPR is also concurrently developing several other important projects. According to public information, its project roadmap and priorities for the coming years are as follows:

Regarding the development cycles for subsequent titles, Co-CEO Michał Nowakowski stated in response to questions: “In a sense, yes. I believe the development cycles for subsequent games can be shortened. Our goal is to release the full trilogy within six years, which means we will compress the intervals between each installment.”

The core of this strategy is the company’s long-term investment and technical accumulation with Unreal Engine 5. Nowakowski explained: “We showcased a technical demo of The Witcher 4 at Unreal Fest a few months ago, and we were very pleased with the outcome. At the same time, we appreciate the Epic team’s ongoing optimization of Unreal Engine, and we ourselves are continuously learning to ensure this engine can fully realize its potential in large open-world games like The Witcher 4.”

This statement clarifies CDPR’s strategic intent to achieve a leap in development efficiency and accelerate series releases by reusing the UE5-based development pipeline, experience, and assets.

Cautious Stance from Players and the Industry
Regarding the ambitious “trilogy in six years” plan, many players and industry observers have expressed cautious optimism and concern.

Concerns: The primary worry is that an overly tight schedule could create development pressure, potentially impacting game quality or even leading to a repeat of Cyberpunk 2077’s problematic launch.
Optimism: Some believe that if CDPR can truly achieve a leap in development efficiency through UE5, this plan could deliver an unprecedented,连贯 (coherent), and high-quality RPG experience for players.

In summary, CDPR’s six-year trilogy plan is its most ambitious blueprint to date. Although officially confirmed, whether the games’ quality can be guaranteed remains to be seen with time.