What the ‘Most Intensive Phase’ of Witcher 4 Development Means
The most intensive phase of Witcher 4 development is the period when CD Projekt Red’s expanded production team focuses on building, testing, and polishing core content, systems, and storytelling at full scale to create a complete AAA game experience. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that 513 developers are now assigned to Witcher 4, marking a major game development team expansion inside the CD Projekt Red studio. With this headcount, the project moves from pre-production experiments into full production, where design decisions harden and feature creep becomes a real risk. For players, this signals that the next Witcher is no longer a distant concept but an active, large-scale AAA game production. For the studio, it represents a test of its updated workflows, pipeline, and quality standards following the lessons learned from Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled launch and later rehabilitation.
A 500+ Developer Team and a New Witcher Trilogy Ambition
CD Projekt Red’s decision to assign 513 people to Witcher 4 development highlights its intent to build a long-running, large-scope project. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski has reiterated that Witcher 4 is planned as the opening chapter in a new trilogy, with three games scheduled across six years. That schedule alone suggests a multi-year development cycle for each title, requiring strong planning and reuse of tools, technology, and design foundations. Unlike The Witcher 3, this trilogy will “most likely not release expansions,” signaling a shift toward making each core release self-contained rather than relying on large post-launch add-ons. This move may allow CD Projekt Red to focus resources on shipping the next entry instead of splitting the team between expansions and sequels, a meaningful structural change for a studio known for some of the most acclaimed DLC in modern RPG history.
Postponing Songs of the Past to Protect Quality and Hype
The studio’s evolving priorities show clearly in The Witcher 3’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past. Co-developed with Fool’s Theory, this new expansion was originally planned for a 2026 launch but has been moved forward to next year “to achieve the best possible result from the consumer standpoint,” according to Michał Nowakowski. He describes it as a “proper big expansion” and notes it is closer in scale to Blood and Wine than to smaller add-ons, though the final feel depends on a player’s path. CD Projekt Red also confirmed that Songs of the Past will not release on last-gen consoles. Beyond selling more copies of an older game, the expansion is framed as an indirect prologue of sorts for Witcher 4, aimed at reminding players of the world and keeping conversation around The Witcher 3 lively without compromising quality.
Signals of Post-Cyberpunk Recovery and a Sharper AAA Strategy
CD Projekt Red’s current strategy for Witcher 4 development reflects a studio trying to rebuild trust through predictable, quality-focused AAA game production. A larger core team, a clear three-game roadmap, and fewer planned expansions all point toward tighter scoping and more controlled launches. Financially, the company’s latest results show that Witcher IP remains strong, with revenue from the brand rising 36% to PLN 44.7 million (USD 12.2 million; approx. RM57.0 million) in the reported period, while overall company revenue grew 6% to PLN 191 million (USD 52.5 million; approx. RM246.0 million). The Witcher 3 passing 65 million cumulative sales gives CD Projekt Red a durable foundation for this renewed focus. Combined, these moves suggest a deliberate shift away from overextended launches toward bigger teams, longer cycles, and a stronger emphasis on consumer satisfaction.
