Revision 1

Overview

Valdrest is a port town in Kovir, first shown in The Witcher IV's Unreal Engine 5 tech demo at the State of Unreal presentation in June 2025. It is the largest populated area shown so far.

The tech demo

In the demo, Ciri and Kelpie traveled through mountain passes and forests before arriving in Valdrest. The town is situated on the coast, with visible docks, market areas, and a population of NPCs going about their business. Ciri arrived to take a witcher contract for an Imperial Manticore plaguing the area.

The tech demo was running in real-time on a base PlayStation 5 at 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled. CDPR and Epic Games used the Valdrest sequence to demonstrate several Unreal Engine 5 features, including crowd rendering with MetaHuman technology, Nanite Foliage, and FastGeo Streaming for seamless environment loading.

Architecture and atmosphere

Valdrest has a distinct coastal European aesthetic with stone buildings, tiled roofs, and a harbor front. It is larger and more prosperous than Stromford, reflecting Kovir's wealth from mineral exports and maritime trade. Market stalls and trader NPCs were visible in the demo.