The Witcher 4: CD Projekt Is Taking a 'Console-First' Development Approach, but With Good Reason

CD Projekt has explained wherefore it has taken a “console-first” improvement attack for the hotly anticipated The Witcher 4, having gone with a PC-first attack for its erstwhile games.

Earlier this month, CD Projekt revealed a stunning The Witcher 4 tech demo, built utilizing Unreal Engine 5, that gave fans a wide consciousness of what to expect from the game.

The tech demo, captured connected a PlayStation 5 and moving astatine 60 frames per second, follows Ciri arsenic she explores the never-before-seen portion of Kovir successful the midst of a monster contract.

There is an unthinkable magnitude of item successful the tech demo, with fluid animations connected a level we person yet to spot connected the existent procreation of consoles. Ciri and her equine Kelpie person peculiarly awesome question and interactions with each other, NPCs, and the crippled satellite arsenic they marque their mode done the mountains of Kovir to the bustling larboard municipality of Valdrest. At 1 constituent successful the demo, CD Projekt upped the NPC number successful the marketplace country to 300 individually animated characters. The showcase ended with a archetypal look astatine Lan Exeter, the wintertime superior and a large larboard metropolis successful Kovir.

Speaking to the tech experts astatine Digital Foundry pursuing the demo reveal, CDPR’s VP of technology, Charles Tremblay, explained wherefore the workplace showed disconnected The Witcher 4 tech demo moving connected PS5 archetypal and earlier PC, saying it’s going for a “console-first” improvement attack for the game.

“We ever bash PC and we propulsion and past we effort to standard down,” helium said. “But past we had truthful galore problems successful the past that we tried to say, this clip astir we truly privation to beryllium much console-first development.”

That notation of having problems successful the past is simply a motion to the disastrous motorboat of 2020’s Cyberpunk 2077, which ran truthful poorly connected consoles connected merchandise that Sony ended up pulling it from the PlayStation Store and offered refunds. Amid the furore, CD Projekt apologized to customers for not showing the crippled connected basal last-gen consoles up of launch, admitting “we should person paid much attraction to making it play amended connected PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.”

CD Projekt spent years recovering from the game’s method issues, but has done truthful successfully, to the constituent present wherever Cyberpunk 2077 is simply a monolithic deed and was adjacent successfully released connected the Nintendo Switch 2 arsenic a motorboat title.

Now, with The Witcher 4 successful improvement but not owed retired until 2027 astatine the earliest, CD Projekt is intelligibly keen to debar making the aforesaid mistake. Later successful the aforesaid interview, Jakub Knapik, VP, Global Art Director, CDPR, talked successful vague presumption astir the benefits of going with console archetypal past “scaling up” to platforms specified arsenic PC.

“We wanted to lick definite foundations,” helium said. “It’s beauteous logical erstwhile you deliberation astir it, due to the fact that it’s easier to standard up than down.

“We knew that erstwhile we acceptable up definite foundations some visually and technically, there’s country to standard up. Now what that means is different question. We’re CDPR, we ever similar to propulsion PCs to the limit. It’s conscionable a originative process however to truly usage it.”

Tremblay past stepped successful to importune PC gamers volition get their money’s worthy from The Witcher 4 erstwhile it yet comes out, contempt the “console-first” approach.

“In the past, thing that’s ace important for the radical is that if radical wage bully wealth for their hardware, past we privation them to person what the crippled tin supply for that, not similar a simplified experience,” helium said.

“So this is thing we volition decidedly explore. The institution started arsenic a PC company, and we’ll decidedly privation to person the champion acquisition for the PC gamer for sure. But it’s excessively aboriginal to accidental what this volition mean for The Witcher 4.”

It’s worthy remembering that by releasing The Witcher 4 connected Xbox Series X, it indispensable besides merchandise it connected the little almighty Xbox Series S. All the speech truthful acold has been astir however CD Projekt has committed to 60 frames per 2nd for The Witcher 4 crossed console, but successful the DF interrogation Tremblay admitted that scaling down to Series S portion maintaining 60fps volition beryllium "extremely challenging.”

“I privation we did a batch of enactment already connected that but we did not,” helium said. “So this is thing that is adjacent connected our radar for sure. I volition accidental that 60fps volition decidedly beryllium highly challenging connected the Xbox Series S. Let’s conscionable accidental this is thing we request to fig out.”

There is inactive a agelong mode to spell for The Witcher 4, and arsenic IGN has reported, the tech demo is not typical of The Witcher 4 gameplay. But it does amusement CD Projekt’s “ambition” for the title.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].