The Witcher 4 will, hopefully, begin production this year – so don’t expect a release date soon

It sounds like CD Projekt Red is currently gearing up to start production on The Witcher 4 this year, as long as everything goes to plan.

Currently titled Polaris internally, it seems that The Witcher 4, or whatever it ends up being called, should be starting production around this summer, according to a report from Reuters. CD Projekt CEO Adam Badowski told Reuters that the studio would "like to have around 400 people working on the project by the middle of the year." Outside of that, there weren't any new details provided on the status of the game, and there wasn't any kind of indication as to when we can expect it to be released. In other words, you probably shouldn't expect it for quite a while, especially considering how long AAA production schedules are these days.

A brief update on the Cyberpunk sequel was also provided, currently code-named "Orion," which is apparently in the conceptual phase right now. Apparently CD Projekt expects there will be about 80 people working on the sequel by the end of the year. Outside of that, details are again slim, but it is apparently considering multiplayer elements. Badowski also expressed confidence in not having as difficult a launch with the Cyberpunk sequel as it did with 2077, saying, "We believe that in the future we'll avoid a premiere like the one we faced with Cyberpunk 2077."

The topic of AI, a bit of a hot button one at the moment, also came up in Reuter's conversation with CD Projekt, though thankfully the studio has zero plans to replace its staff with the technology. "We think that AI is something that can help improve certain processes in game production, but not replace people," Badowski said. That obviously doesn't completely outrule the use of it, which would be preferable, but it's something at the very least - let's just hope they stick to that plan.