CD Projekt Red has unveiled a visually stunning tech demo for The Witcher 4 during the State of Unreal 2025 event, showcasing the game’s cutting-edge graphics and performance running on the base PlayStation 5. Impressively, the demo runs at 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled, made possible by advancements in Unreal Engine 5.6. This marks a bold new chapter in the franchise, with Ciri taking over as the main protagonist in what is planned to be a new trilogy set after the events of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The demo highlighted her exploration of the northern region of Kovir, including the port town of Valdrest and the snowy capital, Lan Exeter.
The tech demo emphasized several major technological innovations. Nanite-powered foliage rendered realistic vegetation without affecting performance, while fast geometry streaming allowed seamless transitions through vast environments, eliminating stutters and pop-in issues. Additionally, a new ML Deformer system brought lifelike animations to characters and animals—such as Ciri’s horse, Kelpie—enhancing the game’s overall realism.
Despite the excitement, CD Projekt Red confirmed that The Witcher 4 is still deep in development and not expected to launch before 2027. They noted that while the demo reflects the direction of the project, it is a technical showcase and not representative of the final gameplay experience. Nonetheless, the preview has significantly raised anticipation for the next chapter in the Witcher saga.