The most important shock of immediately’s Witcher 4 announcement (that is simply what we’re calling it till it has a title) just isn’t that it is occurring—in fact it is occurring—however that CD Projekt is switching from its in-house developed REDengine to Unreal Engine 5. REDengine, in varied iterations, was utilized in The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077, however its time is clearly up: CD Projekt stated within the announcement that the swap to a brand new engine alerts the beginning of “a multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Video games.”
“[The partnership] covers not solely licensing, however technical growth of Unreal Engine 5, in addition to potential future variations of Unreal Engine, the place related,” CD Projekt stated. “We’ll intently collaborate with Epic Video games’ builders with the first aim being to assist tailor the engine for open-world experiences.”
Cyberpunk 2077’s many technical points are probably the most instantly apparent possible purpose for the swap to new expertise—and remember that The Witcher 3 wasn’t precisely in pristine situation at launch both. Shifting to a extra well-rounded, widely-used sport engine might make for a smoother expertise for gamers proper out of the gate.
Extra importantly, although, the brand new expertise will hopefully make life just a little simpler for CD Projekt builders. “One of many core features of our inner Purple 2.0 Transformation is a a lot stronger give attention to expertise, and our cooperation with Epic Video games is predicated on this precept,” CD Projekt Purple chief technical officer Paweł Zawodny stated in a press release.
Purple 2.0 is a long-term development strategy introduced in March 2021 that is meant to allow “parallel growth” of a number of tasks at CD Projekt, somewhat than the one-at-a-time strategy it is taken till now. As a part of the method of enabling that change, studio head Adam Badowski stated administration needed to “emphasize the well-being of our staff and supply them with skilled and private growth alternatives.”
That a part of the technique shift was particularly noteworthy due to long-standing points with crunch at CD Projekt. Complaints first got here to mainstream mild in 2017, a pair years after the discharge of The Witcher 3; on the time, Badowski and CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwinski had been largely dismissive of the problem, and implied that crunch was simply how good issues obtained achieved.
“This strategy to creating video games just isn’t for everybody. It usually requires a acutely aware effort to ‘reinvent the wheel’—even should you personally assume it already works like a attraction,” they stated on the time. “However you realize what? We consider reinventing the wheel each friggin’ time is what makes a greater sport.”
Attitudes appeared to melt considerably, because the studio promised “more humane” and “non-obligatory” crunch for Cyberpunk 2077. However the state of affairs modified after a delay in late 2019: Crunch was made mandatory, and CD Projekt administration didn’t seem to think about the backtrack a big deal.
Switching to Unreal Engine is just about a whole reversal of the “reinventing the wheel” perspective, because the studio will not be required to sink time and sources into upgrading and sustaining its engine: Basically, that might be Epic’s drawback.
“Up to now, we spent a variety of sources and vitality to evolve and adapt REDengine with each subsequent sport launch,” Zawodny stated. “This cooperation is so thrilling, as a result of it’ll elevate growth predictability and effectivity, whereas concurrently granting us entry to cutting-edge sport growth instruments.”
It isn’t precisely a pattern at this level, however CD Projekt is not the primary large studio to determine that an internally-developed sport engine is extra of a ache within the ass than its value. After scuffling with a mandate to make use of the DICE-developed Frostbite engine in Dragon Age, Mass Impact, and Anthem, It now seems like BioWare will use Unreal Engine 5 for the subsequent Mass Impact sport.
Whereas the Witcher is shifting to new expertise, CD Projekt confirmed that REDengine will proceed for use to develop the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 enlargement (though that is a given, because it would not make any sense to remake Cyberpunk 2077 in a brand new engine for the sake of some DLC). And for anybody particularly choosy about which web site they buy their video games from, the developer additionally stated that regardless of the swap to Unreal Engine 5 and partnership with Epic Video games, it doesn’t plan to make the subsequent Witcher sport unique to any storefront
Up to now, CD Projekt video games have launched on GOG (its personal, DRM-free retailer) and Steam. An Epic Video games Retailer launch was added for Cyberpunk 2077. The following Witcher sport will possible hit the identical shops each time it is out, though CD Projekt did not technically decide to particular shops. Past the engine, although, there’s little or no data on the sport, together with when it is perhaps out or who is perhaps in it—however the picture included within the announcement factors to a whole new school of Witchers, strongly suggesting that Geralt will not be again.
We’re not planning on making the sport unique to 1 storefront.March 21, 2022
