What CD Projekt Red’s Intensive Witcher 4 Phase Means
Witcher 4 development refers to CD Projekt Red’s large-scale production of the next mainline Witcher game, built by an expanded team and framed as the start of a new trilogy with a different protagonist and a modern development pipeline. CD Projekt Red has now moved Witcher 4 into what joint CEO Michał Nowakowski calls the “most intensive phase” of production, supported by a game development studio team of 513 people focused on the project. This is a sharp escalation from earlier concept and pre-production work, and it signals that the studio is committing most of its internal resources to the new trilogy. The push reinforces earlier plans to launch three new Witcher games over six years and suggests Witcher 4 has advanced beyond planning into full-scale content creation, systems implementation, and technical polish.
A 500-Plus Team and the Scale of Witcher 4
CD Projekt Red’s team expansion highlights how much larger Witcher 4 development is compared with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. With 513 developers assigned, the studio is building a project that must introduce Ciri as the lead, support modern hardware, and potentially lay foundations for two sequels. Such a headcount allows multiple parallel efforts: narrative and quest design, world-building, combat systems, and technical optimisation for current-generation consoles and PC. It also reflects lessons from Cyberpunk 2077 and the need for more specialised roles in tools, QA, and performance. For players, this CD Projekt Red team expansion hints at a more complex open world and higher production values, but it also raises expectations around launch stability. Internally, it commits the studio to an ambitious schedule where Witcher 4 anchors a six-year roadmap of interconnected releases.
Songs of the Past Delay and Its Role in the Roadmap
Alongside Witcher 4, CD Projekt Red is revisiting The Witcher 3 with Songs of the Past, a new expansion now set for release in 2027 instead of 2026. Co-developed with Fool’s Theory, the DLC returns players to Geralt of Rivia and is described as a “proper big expansion,” closer in spirit to Blood and Wine than a small content pack. According to CD Projekt’s post-results Q&A, the delay aims “to achieve the best possible result from the consumer standpoint,” placing quality over speed. Nowakowski also calls Songs of the Past a kind of indirect prologue to Witcher 4, designed to remind players of the setting and keep conversation around the series alive. The expansion skips last-gen consoles and updates PC system requirements, positioning it as a bridge between the old landmark RPG and the upcoming generation.
Fool’s Theory and the Split Between Past and Future
Fool’s Theory plays a notable role in CD Projekt Red’s broader strategy, co-developing Songs of the Past and handling the remake of the first Witcher. This partnership lets CD Projekt Red maintain the Witcher 3 ecosystem while its core team concentrates on Witcher 4 development. The expansion’s focus on Geralt contrasts with Witcher 4, where Ciri steps into the protagonist role, creating a clear thematic split between past and future. By assigning a partner studio to the nostalgia-driven project, CD Projekt Red can keep long-time fans engaged without diluting internal resources for the new trilogy. It also offers a testing ground for updated technology, tools, and pipelines that can inform both the remake and future entries, tightening the connection between legacy content and the next era of Witcher games.
A New Trilogy Without Traditional Expansions
CD Projekt Red’s roadmap points to a different post-launch strategy for the next trilogy. Nowakowski has said that the new three-game arc will “most likely not release expansions” in the way The Witcher 3 did, implying that the studio wants to focus on core releases rather than large DLC campaigns. That makes Songs of the Past something of a last hurrah for the old model, and a deliberate farewell to Geralt-centered expansions. In business terms, Witcher IP revenue climbed 36% to PLN 44.7 million (USD 12.2 million, approx. RM57.9 million) in the first quarter of 2026, underlining why CD Projekt Red is comfortable anchoring its future around the series. For players, the message is clear: expect fewer add-ons and a faster cadence of full games once Witcher 4 sets the new baseline.