Summary

• CDPR's development roap shows games in pre-production and concept phases.
• The Witcher 4, known as Polaris, is still in pre-production phases, meaning that a playable version is likely a far way off.
• The wait for Polaris may be long, but it should help to ensure the game's quality.

It's been a long time since the 2015 release of The Witcher 3, but the newest update from developer CD Projekt Red confirms that there's still going to be a substantial wait for its successor. In the intervening years, CDPR focused on Cyberpunk 2077 and its DLC Phantom Liberty, which went for a sci-fi flavor and an arguably less convincing approach to RPG elements. Although extensive updates and Phantom Liberty helped salvage much of Cyberpunk 2077's reputation after a divisive launch, it hasn't made the wait to return to The Witcher much easier for fans.

A tweet from the official CD Projekt Red investor relations offers a look at the pipeline for games in The Witcher franchise, and none of them are particularly far along in development.

Polaris, the codename for the game set to succeed The Witcher 3, is listed as pre-production, as is the single-player and multiplayer title Sirius. A remake of the original The Witcher is currently only in the concept stage.

The Witcher 4 Has A Long Way To Go At CDPR

It's not surprising that The Witcher 4 still isn't in the actual production phase, as the bulk of CDPR's resources have clearly been dedicated to Cyberpunk 2077, which has still been receiving patches in the months following the release of Phantom Liberty. Considering how long Cyberpunk 2077 development took, however, it can be a bit of a reality check to think about how many more years could before a new game in The Witcher franchise arrives.

Not much is known about where The Witcher is headed from here, although it has been established that Polaris will be the start of a new trilogy that presumably takes the focus away from Geralt's completed saga. Details on Sirius are even sparser, but it's being developed by The Molasses Flood, the studio behind The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. The remake of The Witcher is being helmed by Fool's Theory, who recently released the isometric RPG The Thaumaturge.

As for other projects by CDPR, the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel known as Orion is in the concept stage, so it shouldn't be hitting store shelves until after The Witcher returns. Orion is being developed by a new American branch of CDPR formed from the core team that worked on Cyberpunk 2077. A new IP codenamed Hadar is listed as being in an "IP concept phase," so basic details about what direction to take may not yet be fully hashed out.

The wait for a new game in The Witcher saga can definitely be frustrating, but giving it time to marinate will only increase the odds that CDPR releases something worthwhile. Hopefully, the growth of Cyberpunk 2077 will also contribute to the studio avoiding making any of the same critical mistakes in future games. Regardless, there's now some concrete proof that the sequel to The Witcher 3 is still a ways off, so anyone looking forward to it with bated breath will have to find some other entertainment for the time being.