Will The Witcher 4 Release in December 2025?

In 2022, CD Projekt RED made the much-anticipated announcement that their popular video game franchise, The Witcher, will be continuing. Among CDPR's many ongoing projects are new installments in the Witcher and Cyberpunk series, in addition to a new IP. The next game, codenamed Project Polaris for the time being, will launch a whole new trilogy in The Witcher World. Nonetheless, the next installment in The Witcher saga is still among the most anticipated upcoming games.

Even though the announcement came out of the blue, CD Projekt RED was very upfront about how far off the release was. Nevertheless, a recent leak can surprise The Witcher fans with an idea of when The Witcher 4 might be released. The wait may thus not be as lengthy as initially anticipated. The Witcher 4 will be released on December 31, 2025, and this news came from a fairly reliable source. Such dates are usually just estimates and not final, but they do give you a good idea of the year the game is aiming for. In 2024, development on The Witcher 4 formally began, with CD Projekt RED confirming that more than 400 developers are already contributing to the game. So it won't be very surprising if we do get the next Witcher game in December 2025.

So even though we previously anticipated that The Witcher 4 release is far away, this leak is giving rise to the idea that the game's release might happen earlier than anticipated. Many fans, meanwhile, are still on the fence and have speculated that the game's release could be delayed until 2027, which is similar to what we anticipated. In light of CD Projekt RED's recent reputation-damaging launch of Cyberpunk 2077 owing to a slew of severe problems and technical issues, the developer is understandably hesitant about rushing the development of such a popular IP. Some people, nevertheless, have a more positive outlook.

In the meantime, it would appear that casting for The Witcher 4, aka Project Polaris, is already underway. We've noticed that an actor's résumé includes The Witcher, which led him to reveal that he'll be playing Branko. In addition, the résumé includes a release date of 2025 for the game; however, considering the absence of announcements up to this point, it is pretty likely that this date is really just an estimate.

However, with a confirmed director and at least one actor on board, it appears like the development of the next The Witcher 4 has gone ahead of schedule. Branko is supposedly going to be played by actor Jake Lampert, while the game's director is said to be Kate Saxon. The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3, Alien Isolation, and The Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order were all projects that Saxon was a part of before. There is a lot of potential in this service record for the sequel.

The plot of The Witcher 4 is that the game is the fourth installment in an upcoming trilogy. Doug Cockle initially hinted that we would be taking on the role of Ciri rather than Geralt this time around. The voice actor for Geralt of Rivia's character has confirmed his involvement with the game, adding credence to this theory. However, he has previously hinted that Geralt will not be the main protagonist in The Witcher 4; he'll be more of a mentor figure like Vesemir. In addition to hinting at a new protagonist, CD Projekt RED also stated that The Witcher 4 will deliver a clear entry point for those who are new to the series.

This has been a trend for many AAA developers who are aiming for newcomers instead of pleasing longtime fans. The most recent example is Dragon's Dogma II, where Capcom gave more attention to the newcomers, which wasn't a bad thing, though. If CD Projekt RED has moved on to the casting phase, perhaps in December 2024 is likely when we might see formal promotional materials or teasers. Even though any time is a good time to launch The Witcher 4 teaser, what would be the most perfect time than The Game Awards on December 13?

Previously, voice actor Doug Cockle, who plays Geralt in The Witcher games, revealed that he is unaware of The Witcher 4's specific story points. Still, he has many thoughts regarding the series' future with CD Projekt RED. The actor claims that he doesn't know much about the sequel beyond what fans already know.

Cockle did confirm that the upcoming The Witcher 4's world will be significantly vast compared to any CDPR game, even Cyberpunk 2077. He said whether CDPR would go ahead, backward, or on a completely new path is something he couldn't really predict. Also, I have no clue if they'll be highlighting an old or new character. The medallion image that CD Projekt RED released gave me the impression that it was a Lynx, so there were hints. Perhaps they're launching an entirely new Witcher school, or at least one that we're not familiar with.

We anticipated hearing about The Witcher 4 on October 26, the anniversary of CD Projekt RED's 2007 release of the first in the series, while they only talked about The Witcher Remake. However, based on recent updates and leaks, some have speculated that an early playable version of The Witcher 4 already exists, based on claims that voice recording sessions are now underway.

This has sparked further speculation about when formal news from CDPR will be revealed. Many people are expecting a trailer or teaser since the Game Awards are scheduled for December 12. As always, expectations are through the roof. Along with that, we may get our first look at what is sure to be a highly anticipated and talked-about game since 2022 at the event. Besides, the RED Playtesting Program will held in Boston soon, so we'll surely find more leads on the upcoming CD Projekt RED games.