A new video game production from the world-famous license, The Witcher, was announced recently. The plot follows the adventures of Geralt, a witcher whose various missions take him to the four corners of the continent. The license of CD Project REDinspired by the books of Andrzej Sapkowski, was such a success that it was adapted into a series on Netflix.
The witcher is therefore on the rise, but while a (supposed) new opus has been announced, what about the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
A little late on PS5 and Xbox Series X
While it was announced in 2021, the next-gen version of the third installment of Geralt’s adventures is long overdue. The CD Projekt Red teams had originally planned a release for end of 2021which was later pushed back to the second quarter of 2022.
YesterdayThe Witcher’s official Twitter account said: “We have decided to entrust our internal development team with the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We are currently assessing the extent of the work to be done and therefore have to postpone the release, planned for the second quarter. from 2022, until further notice”.
A sudden announcement which seems to contrast well with those that the company had previously made regarding the arrival of the next game of the license. CD Projekt Red therefore does not seem to suffer from development difficulties.
In addition, the next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077, which was announced at the same time as that of The Witcher 3, has been out for two months already. So we can ask the question…
What could this delay be due to?
It is important to specify that the CD Projekt Red teams have not specified the official cause of the delay, and that the potential reasons given below are only theories formulated by the community.
- CD Projekt Red reportedly works with Russian-based studios for the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Indeed, in the past the company had used the services of Saber Interactive to help develop the Nintendo Switch version of the game. Saber Interactive’s HQ is in Florida, but the studio that worked on the project is away. St-Petersburgin Russia.
In 2019, CD Projekt RED also said it wanted to use these same studios for future next-gen projects. With the climate of war in Ukraine, it would be possible that the developers of The Witcher wanted to move away from Saber Interactive studios in the region, after condemning the actions of Russia.
- CD Projekt RED would have prioritized other more urgent projects and above all, more expected.
As we mentioned earlier, the company recently made an announcement that rocked fans of The Witcher franchise: a potential fourth game is on the way. In any case, a production under Unreal Engine 5 directly related to the license will arrive soon.
The community is therefore very impatient (us too), and it is likely that CD Projekt RED wanted to prioritize such a project rather than the next-gen version of The Witcher 3, which sparked mixed reactions from fans. On the one hand there are those who are looking forward to it, on the other there are those who think that a next-gen version of the game is not necessary. To be continued…
In any case, it is true that The Witcher 3 is already a marvel in its original version and that Geralt’s adventures remain, in next-gen version or not, just as epic. The CD Projekt RED teams in charge of the legendary license wanted to reassure its fans, they will come back very soon with more information on this subject.
Surprise ! CD Projekt comes out of the woodwork to announce a new episode of the witcher saga with a sober announcement, announcing at the same time a development under Unreal Engine 5 which is excellent news, after the discomfiture Cyberpunk 2077.