The Witcher 4 Release Window Confirmed for 2028 — What We Know About Ciri’s New Saga

Okay, so it finally happened. CD Projekt Red actually came out and said the words we’ve been waiting years to hear. The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release window. Not a rumor. Not a leak from some random insider with a burner account. A straight-up official statement from the studio’s Joint CEO, Michał Nowakowski, dropped right before Gamescom 2026 kicked off. And yeah, a lot of us were hoping for something sooner — but honestly? If it means the game ships in the shape it deserves, I can wait.

The Gamescom 2026 Announcement Everyone Was Half-Expecting

So here’s what went down. CD Projekt Red posted a special video message ahead of Gamescom 2026, and Nowakowski stepped in front of the camera to address the Witcher fanbase directly. The message was clear from the jump: The Witcher 4 will not be at Gamescom 2026. No trailer drop, no gameplay reveal, no surprise showcase. That part stung a little, not gonna lie.

But then came the actual news. Nowakowski confirmed that while they aren’t ready to give an exact date yet, the studio is officially targeting 2028 for The Witcher 4. He described the game as their “biggest, boldest, and most ambitious game to date” — which is a huge claim from the studio that made The Witcher 3, one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Over 500 developers are currently working on it. That’s a massive team.

His exact vibe was something like: we know you want it sooner, but let the team cook. And look — given how The Witcher 3 turned out after its delays? I’m inclined to trust that philosophy.

The Witcher 4

What Is The Witcher 4 Actually About?

If you somehow missed the Game Awards 2024 reveal, here’s the quick catch-up. The Witcher 4 stars Ciri as the main protagonist — not Geralt. Geralt’s story wrapped up with The Witcher 3, and CDPR is passing the torch to his adoptive daughter. She’s completed the Trial of the Grasses, she’s a fully-trained Witcher, and she’s got a mysterious new sword that’s apparently going to be a big deal for the story.

The game is set a few years after The Witcher 3 and takes place in Kovir, a region that’s only existed in the books until now. Think rugged mountains, canal cities, and a wealthy northern territory that’s managed to stay out of the continent’s endless wars. It’s a fresh playground, and the Unreal Engine 5 tech demos CDPR showed earlier at Unreal Fest 2025 made it look absolutely stunning — waterfalls, dense forests, a bustling port city called Valdrest, all running at 60 FPS on a base PS5.

Game Director Sebastian Kalemba put it well during the Game Awards announcement — they always wanted Ciri to lead her own saga. It felt natural. And from what we’ve seen in the tech demos, it genuinely looks like it’s going to hit different from anything CDPR has done before.

Ciri’s School of the Lynx — What That Means for the Game

One of the coolest details that’s been floating around is the School of the Lynx medallion that showed up in the original teaser artwork back in 2022. CDPR confirmed this isn’t an existing school from the Witcher lore — it’s a brand new one, and the theory is that Ciri basically founded it herself. That sets up a completely fresh backstory and lore thread that fans haven’t explored before.

Her Elder Blood powers from The Witcher 3 — the blink teleportation, the space-time stuff — are reportedly being dialed back to create a more grounded, combat-focused gameplay experience. Think less Empress Ciri, more monster-slaying Witcher Ciri. And the motion capture work reportedly has a big focus on her emotions, something that contrasts hard with the more stoic Geralt from the original trilogy.

Oh, and Geralt isn’t completely gone either. He’s confirmed to appear in The Witcher 4, just not as the main character. Which honestly feels right. Let the old wolf retire in peace while Ciri carries the story forward.

The Witcher Trilogy Plan: 2028, 2031, 2034?

Here’s where it gets really ambitious. The Witcher 4 is just the first game in a brand new trilogy, and CD Projekt Red has stated they want to release all three games within a six-year window. Do the math: if The Witcher 4 drops in 2028, we could be looking at The Witcher 5 around 2031 and The Witcher 6 around 2034. That’s a decade-long roadmap they’re committing to right now.

Part of what makes that possible is the switch to Unreal Engine 5. CDPR is moving away from their old proprietary REDengine for the first time, and the benefit is that once they build out the tech systems for The Witcher 4, they can reuse and build on them for the sequels. Smart play, honestly. It’s the kind of long-game thinking that separates studios with real vision from ones just chasing quick releases.

• The Witcher 4 — Targeting 2028 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
• The Witcher 5 — Projected around 2031 (if the six-year plan holds)
• The Witcher 6 — Projected around 2034 (completing the new saga)

The studio has also got other projects cooking alongside this — a remake of the original 2007 Witcher game (Project Canis Majoris), the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel (Project Orion), and a brand new original IP called Project Hadar. These guys are not sitting still.

So What’s Actually at Gamescom 2026? Songs of the Past

Just because The Witcher 4 isn’t showing up doesn’t mean Witcher fans are walking away empty-handed from Gamescom. The big showcase at Opening Night Live on August 25 is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past, the third expansion for the base game. And yeah, this one’s been a long time coming — we’re talking 11 years after Blood and Wine.

Songs of the Past brings Geralt back for a brand new adventure after the events of The Witcher 3. It’s being co-developed by Fool’s Theory, a studio made up of veterans who actually worked on The Witcher 3 originally. So this isn’t some outsourced cash grab — it’s people who know the series deeply stepping back in to add one more chapter. The expansion is launching in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

CDPR has also hinted that Songs of the Past will serve as a kind of unofficial prologue to The Witcher 4. It’s not a direct setup in the traditional sense, but it’s described as a bridge — a way to remind fans of the world and lore before Ciri’s era begins. Think of it as a farewell letter to Geralt’s era before Ciri officially takes the wheel.

Songs of the Past — Key Details So Far

• Release: 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
• Developer: CD Projekt Red co-developing with Fool’s Theory
• Protagonist: Geralt of Rivia returns as the playable character
• Size: Comparable to Blood and Wine in scope — it’s a proper expansion, not a small DLC
• Story: A standalone dark adventure set after The Witcher 3, with hints of dark lore tied to Belleteyn Night
• The Mysterious Sword: Geralt is rocking a brand new sword with an unusual ornate curved crossguard — it’s apparently central to the story
• New Gwent cards: Confirmed
• Cross-platform mod support for TW3: Still in the works, coming at some point in the future

Why Did Songs of the Past Get Delayed?

Originally, a lot of people expected Songs of the Past to land in 2026. Nowakowski addressed this directly in an investor call earlier in the year, and the answer was straightforward — the team collectively decided that 2027 would deliver the best possible result for fans. No rushed corners, no “good enough.” Just making sure it’s actually worth the player’s time when it drops.

Honestly? That’s the CD Projekt Red mindset that made The Witcher 3 one of the most beloved RPGs ever. Blood and Wine is still considered one of the best game expansions ever made. If they’re holding Songs of the Past to that same standard, waiting another year is a fair trade.

Should You Be Worried About the 2028 Target?

Look, let’s keep it real. CDPR has delayed games before. The Witcher 3 got pushed. Cyberpunk 2077 got pushed multiple times and still launched rough. When Nowakowski says “targeting 2028,” he’s being very careful with that word. It’s a window, not a locked release date. Things change in game development — always have, always will. If you’re the type who pre-orders and then watches the delay announcements roll in, you already know the drill with CDPR.

That said, the development signals here are actually pretty healthy. The Witcher 4 entered full-scale production in late 2024. They’ve got 500+ developers actively building it. The Unreal Engine 5 tech demo that ran at 60 FPS on a base PS5 looked genuinely incredible. This isn’t a vaporware situation — the game is very real and moving forward at a solid pace.

There’s also the interesting angle that The Witcher 4 will almost certainly be digital-only. PlayStation has been winding down physical disc manufacturing, and a 2028 game being released physically is looking increasingly unlikely. If you’re a physical copy collector, that’s probably worth knowing now rather than later.

And if waiting until 2028 feels brutal, remember — you’ve got Songs of the Past dropping in 2027 to tide you over. That’s a full-on Geralt expansion from people who clearly love this universe. Not exactly a bad problem to have as a Witcher fan.

The Witcher 4 is coming. Ciri is taking over. And if CDPR’s track record means anything, the wait is going to be absolutely worth it. In the meantime, check out what else is going on in gaming — the industry never really slows down, and there’s plenty to sink time into before 2028. Speaking of which, Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 has its own drama going on right now that’s worth a read, and if you’ve been following the gaming industry’s wilder legal stories, this Roblox wrongful death lawsuit situation is one you shouldn’t sleep on.

The Witcher 4 — Everything Confirmed So Far

• Official title: The Witcher 4 (previously codenamed Project Polaris)
• Developer: CD Projekt Red
• Release window: 2028 (targeting; no exact date confirmed)
• Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
• Engine: Unreal Engine 5 (first Witcher game not built on REDengine)
• Protagonist: Ciri, voiced by Ciara Berkeley
• Setting: The region of Kovir, making its first appearance in the games
• Team size: 500+ developers
• Part of: A new trilogy, with The Witcher 5 and 6 planned within a 6-year window
• Geralt: Confirmed to appear, not as main character

For everything that’s confirmed about The Witcher 4 and Ciri’s new adventure, keep an eye on the official Witcher website. And for a deep dive into the Unreal Engine 5 tech powering the whole thing, the PlayStation Blog breakdown of the tech demo is genuinely fascinating reading.