In a surprising move, Crystal Dynamics has revealed that The Witcher 4 will be built using Unreal Engine 5 instead of the developer’s in-house engine REDengine 4. Perhaps with the long list of graphical glitches that the developer had with REDengine 4 during the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red has decided to make the switch to the latest engine by Epic Games.
Why the next Witcher saga game uses Unreal Engine 5
Soak in more information on why @CDPROJEKTRED has chosen to use #UE5 to build new open-world games, including a new saga for The Witcher! 😻 pic.twitter.com/IVKFKljwf7
— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) April 5, 2022
In a roughly two-minute segment posted as a tweet on the official Unreal Engine account, various developers at CD Projekt RED explain the advantages of working with Unreal Engine 5. In fact, the decision first started when Epic Games showed off a demo that showed off a medieval setting using the engine, as explained by Game Director Jason Slama:
“There was one demo that happened last year that was the medieval environment demo where at one point there’s a noticeboard that looks strangely familiar to things we’ve done in the past that has a sign that even says ‘Monster Slayer Wanted.’
And I’m like, hmm, are they trying to tell us, you know, to come over to Unreal Engine, look how great your games could look on there? Was that whole demo made with that nefarious purpose? I don’t know, but that definitely caught my eye.”
CD Projekt Red’s CTO Pawel Zawodny and Art Director Jakub Knapik also praised Unreal Engine 5 for its ability to create fantastic open worlds easily all while having high stability while the developers adjust variables.
Also, since the engine is being used by other developers, including Crystal Dynamics for its next Tomb Raider game, they can share information with one another to make their games look and perform even better.
In other news, Ubisoft has announced Rainbow Six Mobile for Android and iOS platforms with registration for the closed alpha now open, and Henry Cavill will be returning as Geralt in The Witcher Season 3 on Netflix.
