The Witcher 4 tech demo showcased an impressive glimpse of what CD Projekt Red describes as purely technical experimentation. According to IGN, this demonstration doesn’t reflect actual gameplay, yet witnessing its Unreal Engine 5 execution within The Witcher’s universe inevitably sparks speculation about the final product—still several years away.
Running at 60fps on PlayStation 5, the demo features Ciri navigating Kovir, a newly revealed region confirmed as a playable area in the upcoming title. During her monster-hunting mission, players get a taste of the game’s expansive world.
The demo reveals astonishing detail, showcasing animation fluidity surpassing current-gen console standards. Ciri and her horse Kelpie exhibit lifelike movements while traversing Kovir’s mountains toward Valdrest’s bustling port. A highlight occurs when CD Projekt populated a market scene with 300 uniquely animated NPCs before concluding with Lan Exeter’s debut—Kovir’s winter capital and key maritime hub.
CD Projekt understands expectation management all too well, given Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled 2020 launch that required years of rehabilitation. This history begs the question: does the tech demo represent The Witcher 4’s final vision?
At Epic’s State of Unreal 2025, Cinematic Director Kajetan Kapuściński offered measured insight: while confirming the demo illustrates technological ambition, he emphasized its developmental nature for a game targeting 2027 at earliest.
His full statement:
“This Unreal Engine 5 collaboration with Epic represents technological groundwork for The Witcher 4—not actual gameplay. It demonstrates our target visual direction and co-developed innovations while stressing all content remains subject to change during development.”
“Core elements like Nanite-enabled forests and crowd systems with 300+ animated NPCs hint at our creative priorities moving forward.”
Epic’s Wyeth Johnson confirmed the demo’s PS5 performance (60fps with ray tracing) reflects achievable standards for release builds: “Our technology must deliver what players demand—consistent high-fidelity 60fps experiences across hardware.”
Such performance in sprawling open worlds exceeds current-gen expectations, yet Johnson emphasized optimized parallel processing unlocks untapped potential: “By redesigning systems like animation frameworks and geometry streaming for parallelism, we achieve 2-10x performance gains while preserving visual quality—benefits that will characterize future Unreal Engine titles.”
The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo Screenshots
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While Kapuściński remained guarded about specifics, environmental showcases confirmed ambitious scope: densely populated cities and hyper-detailed Nanite foliage forests will define The Witcher 4’s world.
Platform availability remains uncertain beyond PS5—particularly concerning Xbox Series S compatibility given Rockstar’s similar GTA VI plans. With CD Projekt confirming a 2027 release window at earliest, definitive answers may prove distant.
