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New Witcher Trilogy - Version 9 vs Version 10
Jun 7, 2026, 06:31 PM
Added April 2026 dev-team headcount of 513 developers (latest figure), kept the February 2026 figure of 499
Jul 4, 2026, 04:08 PM
Added Expansions and DLC section: CDPR unlikely to make major paid expansions for the new trilogy given the six-year three-game schedule
11Three Projects2233CD Projekt Red has three Witcher games in various stages of development. They were announced in a series of corporate updates between 2022 and 2023. The plan is to release all three games in the new trilogy within a six-year period.4455Project Polaris (The Witcher IV)6677This is the main event. The Witcher IV stars Ciri and is the first game in a new trilogy. It is built on Unreal Engine 5 and entered full production in November 2024. As of November 2025, the team had grown to over 447 employees working on the project.8899Key details:10101111DetailDescriptionCodenamePolarisEngineUnreal Engine 5 (UE5.6 as of the tech demo)SettingKovir and PovissProtagonistCiriDirectorSebastian KalembaTarget release2027 at the earliest (no official date)1212See the State of Unreal 2025 article for a breakdown of the tech demo that showed the game running on a base PS5 at 60 FPS.13131414Project Canis Majoris (Witcher 1 Remake)15151616A full remake of the original 2007 The Witcher game, rebuilt from scratch in Unreal Engine 5. Development is led by Fool's Theory, a Polish studio, with CDPR providing creative supervision.17171818The project has been deprioritized. Fool's Theory staff were pulled in to help with The Witcher IV's development, pushing the remake further back. It was in the concept phase as of the last public update and is not expected before 2028 at the earliest.19192020The original Witcher game used BioWare's Aurora Engine and had a combat system that many players found dated even at launch. A full remake in UE5 would be a ground-up rebuild, not a remaster.21212222Project Sirius (Multiplayer Witcher Game)23232424The third project is a multiplayer action game set in the Witcher universe. It has had a troubled development. Originally developed by The Molasses Flood (a Boston-based studio CDPR acquired), the project was rebooted from scratch in 2023 after its initial direction was scrapped.25252626On April 1, 2025, The Molasses Flood was fully absorbed into CDPR. The studio no longer operates independently. There is no release date, no public footage, and very little information about what the game actually is.27272828What we do know: it is set in the Witcher universe and it has a multiplayer component. Whether it is a co-op game, a competitive game, or something else entirely has not been clarified.29293030Timeline Outlook31313232CDPR's stated goal is to release all three trilogy games within six years. If The Witcher IV launches in 2027, that puts the third game around 2033. The Canis Majoris remake and Project Sirius sit somewhere in between, though their exact positions in the schedule remain unclear. CDPR has historically been willing to delay projects, so these targets should be treated as aspirational.333334+Expansions and DLC35+36+CD Projekt Red has said it is unlikely to make large paid expansions for the new trilogy. On a 2026 earnings call, joint CEO Michal Nowakowski was asked whether the studio would build expansions for the upcoming games and answered that it would be difficult given the plan to release three Witcher titles within roughly six years. In his words: "It would be difficult, to be very honest, for us to add an expansion to the upcoming trilogy." The previous entry in the series shipped two major story expansions after launch, but CDPR has framed that model as a poor fit for the faster release cadence it has set for The Witcher IV and its two sequels.37+34382026 Production Update35393640As of February 2026, 499 developers are assigned to The Witcher IV (Project Polaris), more than half of CD Projekt Red's total workforce of 933. CDPR has hired over 220 developers since February 2025, with the majority assigned to the Polaris team. The game remains on track for a release no earlier than 2027. By April 30, 2026, 513 developers were assigned to the project.