The Witcher 4 already runs on all target platforms as CD Projekt Red changes approach after Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher 4 is already running on all its target platforms, a direct result of the lessons learned from the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077. The studio's co-CEO Michał Nowakowski told Game Developer that the game is currently playable on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, marking a significant shift in the developer's internal processes.

The new approach stems from the studio's frank acknowledgement of what went wrong with Cyberpunk 2077. That game launched in such a poor state on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One that Sony removed it from the PlayStation Store entirely, only allowing it back six months later with a warning notice attached. While the PC version fared better, the console versions were plagued with performance issues that damaged the studio's reputation.

Nowakowski explained that the original problem arose from the studio's ambition. "The way the studio was thinking was that we are reaching for the best possible visuals," he said. "We want to push the boundaries of what is doable in terms of cinematic feeling and whatnot, and PC was just the best suited rig for that." The team operated under what Nowakowski described as a "false belief" that scaling the game down to run on consoles would not be particularly difficult.

This confidence was partly born from the studio's experience with The Witcher 3, which had performed well on consoles. Nowakowski admitted the team "got a bit lucky here and there" with that game's optimisation, leading them to assume Cyberpunk 2077 would follow the same pattern. It did not.

A new development philosophy

For The Witcher 4, CD Projekt Red has overhauled how it approaches development milestones. Nowakowski described a system of checkmarks that the team must hit during development. "For example, technically, we should hit, let's say, 10 checkmarks," he said. "Back in the past, if we missed one or two, we were like, 'we're gonna catch up with that later on.' Sometimes we did, but sometimes we didn't, and then two milestones or three milestones down the road, you have like four or five missing checkmarks and it's not that easy."

The studio now stops to fix platform-specific problems as they arise, rather than pushing them to a later date. This ensures that the game remains in a working state on all platforms throughout development, rather than leaving optimisation until the end of the project.

"Since then, we don't take chances," Nowakowski said. "We want to be sure that it actually works."

The result is that The Witcher 4 is already running on all target platforms simultaneously. "You come to the studio, you launch Witcher 4 right now," Nowakowski said. "You can launch it on PC. You can launch it on PS5. You can launch it on Xbox Series X, and it's going to run."

Release window and platforms

The Witcher 4 is currently targeting a 2028 release, though the studio has not confirmed a specific date and the window could slip. The game is in development for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The emphasis on ensuring the game runs properly from the start is a clear attempt to avoid repeating the mistakes of Cyberpunk 2077, which launched across two console generations and PC simultaneously with widely varying results.

While the promise that a game "runs" on its target platforms is a low bar for any major release, it is understandable why CD Projekt Red feels the need to make the point explicitly. The studio's reputation took a significant hit with Cyberpunk 2077's launch, and the developer appears determined to ensure that The Witcher 4 does not suffer the same fate. Whether the 2028 target holds remains to be seen, but the studio's new internal processes suggest a genuine attempt to deliver a stable experience across all platforms from day one.