CD Projekt Red never considered charging for The Witcher 3 remaster, and says expansion Songs of the Past came from a couple of "happy accidents"

CD Projekt Red, the studio behind The Witcher series, is taking significant precautions to ensure that their upcoming game, The Witcher 4, performs well across all target platforms. This strategy stems from the performance issues that plagued their previous major release, Cyberpunk 2077. Studio co-CEO Michal Nowakowski has stated that the game is already functioning on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, highlighting the company's proactive approach to optimization.

This shift in methodology is aimed at avoiding the pitfalls that led to Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch, particularly on older console generations. The development team is focused on achieving the highest visual fidelity, particularly on PC, but is also ensuring that the game is optimized for consoles. Nowakowski acknowledged that the studio had previously taken a riskier approach to performance optimization, often "catching up" on console issues later in development.

However, they have learned from their past experiences and are now implementing a more rigorous process to track milestones and address platform-specific challenges. The Witcher 4 is currently slated for a 2028 release, but the development timeline is flexible to allow for a stable launch across all platforms.