The Witcher 4 is set to release in 2028, with CD Projekt Red confirming the highly awaited next chapter is on its way. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski shared the video update before Gamescom, giving players a better understanding of when they can expect Ciri’s new saga to roll out. The game is being created as a large open world experience with intense warfare and a deep story, while more than 500 developers are working on the project.
The announcement gives players the first official target year for the next mainline Witcher game, although CD Projekt Red has not released an exact date. Nowakowski asked fans to be patient and “let the team cook,” saying the wait would be worth it.
Why Is The Witcher 4 Targeting a 2028 Launch?
Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski, confirmed that The Witcher 4 is aiming for a 2028 release window during a video clip released before Gamescom 2026. The studio has not given a specific date. More than 500 developers are working on the game, which CD Projekt Red calls its largest and most ambitious Witcher project. The team is building a massive and immersive open world alongside action-centric gameplay and a story created to establish a new chapter in the franchise.
The game opens a new saga led by Ciri, planned as the first of a trilogy. CD Projekt Red’s official Witcher site describes The Witcher 4 as a single-player open-world RPG in which Ciri becomes a professional monster slayer and traverses a dark fantasy world.
Prior, the studio showed a technical demonstration built with Unreal Engine 5, giving users a look at the technology being developed for open world games. CD Projekt Red has clarified the technical demonstration does not correlate to the actual gameplay from the finished Witcher 4. The size of the development team also provides some information for the long wait, with hundreds of developers working on the project and the studio aiming for a large open world.
To our beloved fans, players, and community:
— The Witcher (@thewitcher) August 24, 2026
As we near #gamescom in just a few days, CD PROJEKT RED Joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski would like to personally invite YOU to join us there, and hear about the future of The Witcher franchise! pic.twitter.com/Jyam30SrQH
CD Projekt Red appears to be giving the new saga hefty development time rather than rushing it towards a release. The 2028 projected timeline also means fans will have to wait beyond this year’s Gamescom for the full Witcher 4 experience. The studio has confirmed that the game itself will not be displayed at the event, keeping the focus on another upcoming Witcher project instead.
What Comes Before The Witcher 4 Arrives?
While Witcher 4 will not make it to the Gamescom presentation, CD Projekt Red will show The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past at Opening Night Live on August 25. The expansion arrives in 2027 and is being developed with Fool’s Theory, the studio also remaking the original Witcher. The company has listed the expansion among the new additions on its official website Songs of the Past is described as comparable in scale to Blood and Wine. Nowakowski also called it a kind of prologue to The Witcher 4, while stopping short of calling it one literally.
The platform will also bring new Gwent cards, giving players another reason to return to the world of The Witcher 3 while waiting for the next mainstream game. The expansion will keep Geralt as the focal point of the adventure, giving another chapter for the character before the franchise moves ahead into Ciri’s story with Witcher 4. The distinction gives fans two different stages of the Witcher timeline to look upon: a new adventure within The Witcher 3 and an entirely new saga led by Ciri.
CD Projekt Red will run a large booth in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse and daily REDstreams from August 25 to 30, with Nowakowski teasing a surprise or two.
2028 is a long wait, but The Witcher IV looks promising. Hope it lives up to the hype!
— Jane (@janejane4i) August 25, 2026
The Witcher 4’s release tenure is far away, but the announcement gives the gaming community a clear vision for the franchise’s next major chapter. With CD Projekt Red highlighting the game’s magnitude, open world, adventure, and plot, the studio is asking players for forbearance as the work continues.
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