The tale of CD Projekt Red is a curious one, and proof that you can be red hot in the gaming industry, then blow a lot of good will with the wrong move. After all, things were going great when they adapted the books about Geralt of Rivia, a monster-hunting Witcher, into the gaming space. The first three entries were so popular that they made the Polish studio a household name, and by they got to the third mainline entry, they had created one of the greatest RPG experiences ever. So, how can The Witcher 4 top that?
If you recall, a 4th mainline entry wasn’t in the cards initially. Instead, CD Projekt Red jumped into the cyberpunk world and attempted to make a unique RPG in that space. However, an incredibly long development cycle, numerous issues, a terrible launch, and a 2+ year attempt to fix what they had broken led to some serious strain on the studio. That’s when The Witcher 4 got announced, as an attempt to showcase to people that they were going back “to what they were good at.” However, since that announcement, we’ve had very little insight into what the next entry will be about. That being said, the game’s director had this to say about the title:
“Most advanced” is a rather vague term, which obviously leaves it up to interpretation. The most obvious answer is that this might be the most advanced game regarding graphics, as the title is being made for the current, or possibly next-gen, systems, which means that even compared to their cyberpunk title, it’ll look even better—considering that the game’s universe is a fantasy setting, that could mean that things like particle effects and the looks of the monsters will look even crisper than before, which many won’t mind.
Another way of looking at it is that they could be making an even more advanced gameplay system for people to enjoy. If past statements are to be believed, Geralt of Rivia won’t be the main character, so they need to make something fresh for the new protagonist so that they don’t feel too much like Geralt. That could mean that they have new kinds of attacks, new types of magic to wield, etc.
Given how well the third game was received, CD Projekt Red knows how big they have to make the new game’s world and how packed with content they must put within it. Only time will tell how well they pull it off.
