The Witcher 4 “Polaris” Production Phase Planned to Kick Off This Year, CDPR Studio Head Says

CD Projekt Red plans to kick off the production phase of The Witcher 4 this year, according to the Studio Head and Joint CEO Adam Badowski.

That's what the executive told Reuters. In addition, and as previously reported, CD Projekt Red aims to have "around" 400 employees working on "Project Polaris" as the new Witcher trilogy is currently codenamed. "We'd like to have around 400 people working on the project by the middle of the year", Badowski told Reuters with regards to The Witcher 4.

Related Story The Witcher 3 Eternal Hunt Mod is a Must-Have for Those Wanting to Re-Experience the Game Radically Different

In addition to sharing these details about the new Witcher saga, Badowski also shared some information about the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, which is currently codenamed "Project Orion".

According to the Joint CEO, the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel is currently in the conceptual phase, and he expects around 80 employees to work on the project by the end of this year. In addition, he said that the team is considering adding multiplayer elements, although no further details were shared. Another interesting tidbit from the Reuters article is that CD Projekt Red has seemingly formed a team to look at how the studio could use AI going forward. "We think that AI is something that can help improve certain processes in game production, but not replace people," Badowski said.

Some interesting new details about Project "Polaris" and Project "Orion". As covered some months ago, CDPR aims to go beyond current RPG titles with The Witcher 4, and the game is said to be a good starting point for new players. The next Witcher entry, powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 5, was officially announced back in May of 2022.

Earlier this month we reported that development on Cyberpunk 2077's sequel kicked off, and according to the game's Narrative Director, Cyberpunk 2077 was just a warm-up for the team. "First day in the Boston office!", Narrative Director Igor Sarzyńs said some weeks ago. "So