CD Projekt Red marked the 19th anniversary of The Witcher on October 26 with a post on X, and most of it went to thanking BioWare. The timing probably isn't a coincidence. Just five days earlier, EA shut down BioWare in a restructuring that cut around 400 jobs, roughly 50 of them at the studio, and ended early development on the next Mass Effect. CDPR joint CEO Michał Nowakowski had already called BioWare a massive part of CDPR's history on X shortly after the news broke. Here's what the studio posted for the 19th anniversary of The Witcher.

19 years ago, an ambitious dream to bring an iconic book series into the world of video games came to life with the release of The Witcher. It was the start of an unforgettable path, which wouldn't have been possible without our friends at BioWare. From lending us their Aurora Engine and sharing their knowledge, to giving us a spot at their booth at E3, their support helped turn our vision into Geralt's first interactive adventure. Thank you to everyone who has walked the Path with us from the very beginning. Happy 19th anniversary, witchers!

CD Projekt RED has announced Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.5, a free patch arriving on October 22 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The Switch 2 version will follow "shortly," though there's no date for it yet. The update ties into Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, which premiered all ten episodes on Netflix on October 20, and brings new items and features inspired by the anime. So far, CDPR has only teased cyberware customization and a new dual-wielding playstyle. A first look is coming during a REDstreams broadcast on October 21 at 5 PM CEST, and the official patch notes will go live the same day.

This one is quite a surprise, since Cyberpunk 2077 hasn't received an update in over a year. Update 2.3 arrived in July 2025 with FSR 4, XeSS frame generation, and VRR for consoles, and it looked like the game's final major update at the time. A smaller 2.31 patch followed in September 2025, and the studio has since put most of its focus on The Witcher 4, which has a 2028 release window. Interestingly, 2.31 launched on Switch 2 alongside the other platforms, so the staggered release this time is a bit unusual. CDPR hasn't said anything about PC-specific changes like new upscalers or ray tracing tweaks, so it's reasonable to wait for the patch notes on October 21 before expecting anything on that front.

CD Projekt Red has shared a rare update on Project Hadar, the studio's first fully original IP that it first teased back in 2022. Speaking to Polish outlet PAP Biznes, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said it took the team several years to settle on what Hadar's world actually is, but that vision is now in place and work on the game has officially started. Don't expect to see it anytime soon, though, since the project isn't even in pre-production yet. Here's how Nowakowski put it:

This has been our biggest undertaking to date, taking us several years, but at this point we can say we have a coherent vision for this world and its key elements. The team has begun work on the game, although it's not yet in pre-production. Currently, small prototypes are being created, and gameplay elements are also being tested.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered just dropped to significant fanfare and a massive boost in the game's peak concurrent player count. It was previously revealed that CD Projekt Red wanted The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered to be comparable to "any other game which is launching these days," which suggested combat and gameplay overhauls for the 11-year-old game. In a new interview with VGC, Fool's Theory's Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz and CD Projekt Red's Paweł Sasko detailed some of the inspiration and challenges involved with updating the ARPG for modern audiences. Sasko explains that CDPR decided to address the combat and gameplay aspects of The Witcher 3, because the story and characters still held up, but the aging combat stood out as common complaints from gamers and journalists, alike.

Together with some of the old members of The Witcher team, we looked into how The Witcher 3 plays out, the common complaints from our players, and which areas hadn't aged that well. The story is still relevant, you can play it, and it's beautiful, and the characters are fun, but when you look at the gameplay side, it was obvious that this was almost the weakest side. And when you look at the opinions of the journalists and the players, everyone's kind of saying the same thing, which is that gameplay is the weakest part of The Witcher 3.

The Witcher IV has long been in development at CD Projekt Red, with the studio expecting to launch the game in 2028, however it seems as though much of the game's scope and general philosophy has already been figured out and set in stone. In a recent panel appearance at the International Festival of Comics in Poland, CDPR joint CEO, Adam Badowski commented on the game's story and morality system, suggesting there would be a focus on both when the upcoming game launches.

As reported by entertainment site, Wiedźminlandia, Badowski explains that the long development times on The Witcher 4 are largely due to the repeated rewrites that are made in order to develop a narrative that resonates with players and doesn't feel hollow. One way in which The Witcher IV will do this is with its nuanced, often ambiguous choices-matter gameplay, which Badowski says will "make a lasting impression on the player." Judging by what the CEO said, we can seemingly expect subtle choices to affect character interactions and potentially even change story beats when the game launches in 2028.

CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michał Nowakowski has explained why the studio moved The Witcher 4 from its in-house REDengine to Unreal Engine 5, and he says the messy Cyberpunk 2077 launch wasn't the trigger. Speaking on the Deconstructor of Fun podcast, he called the idea that REDengine caused Cyberpunk's problems a mistaken assumption. He revealed that the switch instead came after an early look at Epic's The Matrix Awakens tech demo. Here's what he said:

"It was not the Cyberpunk launch that convinced us to abandon the REDengine and switch completely to Unreal Engine 5 with the future projects. It was more the moment we got an early scoop of the Matrix demo that Epic made. We then asked ourselves: 'Is UE5 ready to ship a game like we make?' And that's where we came to the table with the guys from Epic. That's where we made the strategic collaboration."

CD Projekt Red is aware that switching The Witcher 4 to Unreal Engine 5 carries the risk of the game blending in with every other UE5 title out there. CDPR built Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 on its own REDengine, which gave both games a distinct visual identity. UE5 has since become the industry default, and plenty of games on it end up with a similar glossy look, which players online often complain about. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski addressed that concern directly, admitting the studio spent real time in R&D wondering if Epic's engine was even the right fit.

"That was a big question we were asking ourselves, because pushing the envelope with how the games look, the cinematic feel of it all, is very, very important. And that was a big question mark when we were in the R&D phase over whether Unreal Engine 5 is going to be a good fit or not. We really are going to be able to differentiate ourselves. People are going to feel this is a CDPR game still."

It seems as though gamers excited to hop back into the shoes of a young Geralt of Rivia will have to wait a little longer than anticipated. According to recent comments from CD Projekt Red to Gamespot, the remake, announced in 2022, has taken a back seat, due to the development teams shifting focus to both The Witcher 4, and Songs of the Past, the latest expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Fool's Theory team is focused mainly on the development of Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, while a relatively small part of their team is supporting the development of The Witcher 4. As we have previously announced, the development on The Witcher Remake has been temporarily integrated with The Witcher 4 due to production process dependencies. As The Witcher Remake will be built on the foundation laid by The Witcher 4, we need to have the necessary assets, tools, and pipelines ready for efficient development.

CD Projekt Red still plans to give The Witcher 4 a physical release, though joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski says whether it comes with an actual PS5 disc inside isn't up to the studio. Speaking to The Game Business, Nowakowski confirmed the box will exist regardless, but a disc depends entirely on Sony's own manufacturing plans. CD Projekt Red has previously confirmed that The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release, the same year Sony is set to stop producing PlayStation discs entirely. Here's what Nowakowski had to say:

"We don't know what's going to be the case. We know what PlayStation has announced, and we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes, we won't have a disc … We're going to be for sure having a box. We're going to have a box that's going to have some feelies in it."

As expected, there has been a lot of chatter online about The Witcher 4 since it was announced that the game was in full development at CD Projekt Red. Now, as per an interview Game Developer, CD Projekt Red's Michał Nowakowski has revealed what he meant when he said that the studio had learned from the launch of Cyberpunk 2077: The Witcher 4 already runs on all of the target systems—PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S.

Michał Nowakowski, co-CEO of CD Projekt RedYou come to the studio, you launch Witcher 4 right now. You can launch it on PC. You can launch it on PS5. You can launch it on Xbox Series X, and it's going to run...