The Witcher 4 Is Targeting a 2028 Release Window

CD Projekt Red has put its clearest timetable yet on The Witcher 4: the studio is targeting a 2028 release window. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski shared the target in a video message ahead of Gamescom 2026, while stressing that the company is not ready to announce an exact launch date. That makes 2028 a development target rather than a locked release date.

The Witcher 4 now has a target year

The update narrows a release window that had previously remained deliberately broad. CD Projekt had already told investors that The Witcher 4 would not launch before 2027, but the new statement moves expectations one step further by naming 2028 as the year the studio is currently aiming for.

Nowakowski also said that more than 500 developers are working on the game. He described The Witcher 4 as CD Projekt Red's biggest and most ambitious game to date, with a large open world, action-focused gameplay and a story designed to begin a new saga. Those descriptions are the studio's own positioning, not conclusions from independent testing.

The game itself is a single-player open-world RPG starring Ciri as a professional monster slayer. CD Projekt Red's official project page says the new chapter is being built with Unreal Engine 5. A technology demonstration shown in 2025 illustrated technology being developed for the project, but the studio explicitly distinguished that demo from finished Witcher 4 gameplay.

Don't expect The Witcher 4 at Gamescom 2026

Anyone hoping the release-window news would be followed by a fresh Witcher 4 presentation at Gamescom will have to wait. CD Projekt Red says the game will not be shown at this year's event. Instead, the company is turning the spotlight back to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its newly announced expansion, Songs of the Past.

Songs of the Past is scheduled for 2027 and is due to receive a substantial Gamescom showing. CD Projekt confirmed the expansion in May, describing it as a third full-sized expansion for The Witcher 3. The company has framed Geralt's return as a bridge toward Ciri taking over the lead in The Witcher 4.

Why the wording matters

There is an important difference between targeting 2028 and announcing a release date. CD Projekt Red has not provided a month, quarter or day, so the schedule can still move as development continues. For players, the useful takeaway is that 2028 is now the studio's public goal, not a guarantee that the game will ship within that calendar year.

The longer runway also fits the scale CD Projekt has been signalling. In its 2025 financial results, the group said it invested more than 513 million PLN in future releases, with The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 among the main areas of investment. The company has therefore been committing substantial resources to its next generation of games well ahead of launch.

What we know so far

• CD Projekt Red is targeting a 2028 release window for The Witcher 4.
• No exact release date, month or quarter has been announced.
• Ciri is the protagonist of the new mainline Witcher saga.
• The game is a single-player open-world RPG built with Unreal Engine 5.
• More than 500 developers are working on the project, according to CD Projekt Red.
• The Witcher 4 will not be shown at Gamescom 2026.

For now, 2028 is the date to circle lightly rather than mark in permanent ink. The announcement gives fans a much better idea of CD Projekt Red's internal schedule, but the studio is still leaving itself room to finish the project before committing to a specific launch day. In the meantime, Songs of the Past gives the series a confirmed 2027 release before Ciri's next adventure arrives.

Where to find it

• The Witcher 4 official project page