For many years, CD Projekt RED used its own REDengine, on which The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 were created. The Witcher IV will be the studio's first major game on Unreal Engine 5. One of the main questions when changing technology was how to preserve the signature look of the games.
Michał Nowakowski, co-CEO of CD Projekt RED, stated that the studio is directly collaborating with Epic Games to adapt Unreal Engine 5. According to him, the developers are not going to put up with the limitations of a ready-made engine.
When we decided to change the engine, people said: "Oh, this will be another game that looks like Unreal." But that won't be the case. We will truly be able to stand out. People will still feel that this is a CDPR game, and the technology working under the hood will practically not matter from a fan's perspective.
The transition to Unreal Engine 5 should also accelerate development. CD Projekt RED plans to release three main games of the new Witcher saga within six years.