CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games kicked off the recent State of Unreal 2025 keynote with an amazing tech demo showcasing the upcoming The Witcher 4 running in Unreal Engine 5. CD PROJEKT RED’s Joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski showcased an early build version of The Witcher 4 running on Unreal Engine 5. The tech demo showcased the main protagonist, Ciri, a key character from its previous title, The Witcher 3 – Wild Hunt, amid a monster contract, highlighting some of the innovations that Unreal Engine 5’s technology is bringing to this iconic franchise.
The tech demo showcased the setting set in the region of Kovir, which is a mainstream location from the franchise, but it is the first time that we are actually seeing it in The Witcher video game. The presentation continued further with Ciri riding her horse Kelpie as she travelled through the rugged mountains and dense forests of Kovir. During this section, the developers showed us different angles of the forests of Kovir with a free camera while explaining different technologies like the Nanite Foliage, which is powering the foliage sections of The Witcher 4. Technically, The Witcher 4 is the most powerful and technologically advanced title in the franchise, and it is because of Unreal Engine 5.
Check out the Unreal Tech Demo of The Witcher 4, including a brand-new cinematic trailer, below:
Back in 2022, CDPR announced a strategic partnership with Epic Games, revealing that The Witcher 4 will be taking the power of Unreal Engine and using it to bring The Witcher 4 to life. Since then, both companies have been working together to create new tools and enhance existing features in Unreal Engine 5 to expand the engine’s open-world development capabilities and establish robust tools geared towards CDPR’s open-world design philosophies.
The tech demo showcased during the keynote was running on a standard PS5 system with 60 FPS and showed the engine’s capabilities of managing the heavy resources even with limited hardware. The game fully uses advanced technologies like Nanite Foliage rendering, Unreal Animation Framework, MetaHuman technology with Mass AI crowd scaling, and more. At this moment, these tools are being developed, optimized, and will eventually be released for all developers interested in working in Unreal Engine 5 for their titles with today’s Unreal Engine 5.6 release.
These new tools will help developers create highly realistic environments and an immersive open world without worrying about heavy resource utilization. With Unreal Engine 5.6, achieving at least 60 FPS without compromising on the quality will be much easier than before. The Mass system handles large, dynamic crowds with ease, as ML Deformer adds subtle, realistic touches to character animation right down to muscle movement. The tech demo on two separate occasions goes into detail and shows visually how this system works as Kelpie, Ciri’s horse, is running.
The Witcher IV is an upcoming single-player, open-world RPG set in the iconic The Witcher universe. It is the fourth mainstream title and follows the journey of a brand-new character, Ciri, who is now working full-time as a Witcher as she embarks on her journey through a brutal, dark fantasy world.
Related News:
- The Witcher in Concert Announces Ticket Sales and First Tour Stops for 2025
- The Witcher 3 – Complete Edition Retail Physical Release Announced for PS5, Xbox Series X|S
- The Witcher, Dying Light Composer Joining Forever Skies for Soundtrack
- Review: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition (PS5) – The Best Just Got Even Better
- The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Upgrade Delayed ‘Until Further Notice’
What are your thoughts on the new Unreal Engine 5 tech demo showcased for The Witcher 4? Are you excited to play the game when it comes out? Let us know in the comments section below.
