The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 tech demo shows a stunning open world, but CD Projekt Red warns it's not gameplay

 

Epic Games and CD Projekt Red demonstrated an early Unreal Engine 5 tech demo for The Witcher 4, which included breathtaking scenery, a comprehensive open world, in-game destinations, and new Unreal Engine technical features. According to CD Projekt, the roughly 10-minute-long technology display, revealed at the State of Unreal event on Tuesday, was operating at 60 frames per second on a basic PS5 with ray-tracing enabled.

The Witcher 4 Technical Demo
In addition to delivering an early peek at The Witcher 4's universe, the tech demo unveiled the northern area of Kovir, a new location for the game. CDPR has stressed, however, that the demo was not genuine gameplay of The Witcher 4, but rather a "deep dive into the technological foundation of the new Witcher saga," implying that the final game may not look like the build presented at the presentation.

Nonetheless, what was showed was stunning, with crisp character models for the game's protagonist Ciri and her horse Kelpie, thick flora, complex cities bustling with NPCs, and a slew of Unreal Engine 5 technologies and capabilities to power it all.

"Since the strategic partnership was announced in 2022, CDPR has been working with Epic Games to develop new tools and enhance existing features in Unreal Engine 5 to expand the engine's open-world development capabilities and establish robust tools geared toward CD PROJEKT RED's open-world design philosophies," the Polish production company stated in an update to its web presence.

The technical demonstration opens with Ciri walking down a mountain in the Kovir area, following the trail of a monster, before mounting her horse, Kelpie, and riding to Valdrest, a neighboring port.

The demo then takes you into the untamed world of The Witcher 4, where you'll see steep snow-capped mountains and lush woods rendered with Unreal's new Nanite Foliage technology. The scene then changes back to Valdrest, a lively town where Ciri interacts with NPCs that appear to be responsive and going about their everyday lives. At one point, the demo has nearly 300 animated NPCs in a single scenario.

According to CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 4 will be the "most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game ever". The exhibition concluded with a glance of Lan Exeter, Kovir's winter capital and main harbor city.

According to CD Projekt and Epic, the tools and technologies seen in the video will ultimately be available to all UE developers, beginning with the release of Unreal Engine 5.6 on Tuesday.

"We formed a relationship with Epic Games to advance open-world gaming technologies. "To show this early look at the work we've been doing using Unreal Engine running at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, is a significant milestone—and a testament of the great cooperation between our teams," CD Projekt Red joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski said in a statement. "But we are far from finished. I'm excited to see additional breakthroughs and inspirational technologies from our collaboration as The Witcher 4 on Unreal Engine 5 development continues."

The Witcher 4 was announced at The Game Awards 2024 with a cinematic video that introduced Ciri as the protagonist of a new Witcher story. CD Projekt has yet to reveal any gameplay from the forthcoming RPG, as the tech demo does not reflect the finished game. While there is no definitive release date for The Witcher 4, the developer stated at its FY 2024 results conference in March that the game will not be available until 2027.