CD Projekt RED has shed a little bit more light on what players can expect from its upcoming remake of The Witcher. In today’s report on the company’s third-quarter 2022 results, the studio gave an interesting new detail on its Canis Majoris project. Namely, that the remake of the original game will this time be open-world in its design.
The original game of The Witcher was originally released in 2007. It’s fair to say that it was a very different experience to that which the franchise is now probably best known for, namely The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As the first introduction to protagonist Geralt of Rivia and the world of The Continent, The Witcher of 2007 probably left a lot to be desired in terms of exploration and adventure. It seems though, that the remake will be brought more in line with the expectations of today’s adventure-hungry gamers.
As spotted in IGN, and as part of CD Projekt RED’s Q3 financial results briefing, the studio remarked that the upcoming remake will be a “story-driven, single-player open-world RPG.” This sounds very much like it’ll be making full use of Unreal Engine 5’s capabilities as it rebuilds the original game from the ground up. It’s also certain to get people thinking about the overall direction of the remake, which by the sounds of things make be more akin to the style and experience of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt rather than a game in keeping with its 2007 original. In fairness, that might not be such a bad thing.
While CD Projekt RED will very much be in the driving seat when it comes to the creative direction of The Witcher remake, the development of the project is being handled by a third party. As confirmed in the financial report briefing, “the execution of the project will be the responsibility of Fool’s Theory, a studio specializing in role-playing games. CD Projekt RED has full creative oversight of the game’s development.” You can check out the full briefing here, with subtitles available in English.
The studio is currently gearing up for the launch of the long-awaited next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This free upgrade rolls out for all owners of the game on December 14 and will bring a bunch of exciting new features to the title. While there’s still no specific date been provided as to when we may expect The Witcher remake, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how things develop on the project over the next few months. We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for further updates on The Witcher remake, as well as any further news on the brand new Witcher saga that’s also currently in development at CD Projekt RED.
