CD PROJEKT RED revealed The Witcher IV at The Game Awards 2024 on December 13, 2024. Its nearly six-minute debut trailer introduces Ciri as the protagonist of a new single-player, open-world RPG saga—but it is a pre-rendered cinematic, not gameplay.
What CD PROJEKT RED announced
The studio calls The Witcher IV the first game in a new Witcher saga and a successor to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Its official description is “single-player, open-world RPG”; “action RPG” is a reasonable shorthand, but the studio’s stated genre wording is more specific. CD PROJEKT RED’s announcement is dated December 13, 2024.
Ciri is the protagonist
The trailer establishes Ciri, Geralt of Rivia’s adopted daughter, as the central character. Game director Sebastian Kalemba said, “We’re kicking off a brand-new Witcher saga, this time with Ciri as the heart of the story!”
What happens in the debut trailer
The cinematic follows Ciri into a remote village where a monster has demanded ritual sacrifices for generations. She takes on the contract and tries to save a girl who has been prepared as the next offering. The official franchise trailer page credits Platige Image as a production collaborator.
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#1 Best Overall
![The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - PlayStation 4 [video game]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51MjZ-5jWuL._SL160_.jpg)
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Is the trailer gameplay?
No. CD PROJEKT RED says the nearly six-minute reveal trailer was pre-rendered in a custom build of Unreal Engine 5 on an unannounced NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU. It uses assets and models from the game, but it is not gameplay footage, so it does not show how combat, exploration, or the interface will work during play.
What the Unreal Engine 5 material confirms
The studio says The Witcher IV is being developed using customized Unreal Engine 5 technology. The later Unreal Engine 5 demonstration shown on PS5 is separate from the debut trailer: in a June 3, 2025 PlayStation Blog post, Kalemba said, “This isn’t gameplay of The Witcher 4,” describing it instead as a technology demo featuring Ciri during a monster contract. Neither presentation should be treated as a gameplay reveal.
Rank #2
- PLAY AS A HIGHLY TRAINED MONSTER SLAYER FOR HIRE: Trained from early childhood and mutated to gain superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.
- Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic.
- Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities. Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting, and other pleasures life brings.
- EXPLORE A MORALLY AMBIGUOUS FANTASY OPEN WORLD: Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth, and complexity. Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves, and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across the open plains, mountains, and seas. Deal with treasonous generals, devious witches, and corrupt royalty to provide dark and dangerous services. Make choices that go beyond good & evil, and face their far-reaching consequences.
- TRACK DOWN THE CHILD OF PROPHECY: Take on the most important contract of your life: to track down the child of prophecy, the key to saving or destroying this world. In times of war, chase down the child of prophecy, a living weapon foretold by ancient elven legends. Struggle against ferocious rulers, spirits of the wilds, and even a threat from beyond the veil – all hell-bent on controlling this world. Define your destiny in a world that may not be worth saving.
Release date and platforms
The official announcement and current project description in CD PROJEKT RED’s press center do not state a release date or provide a complete platform list. The RTX GPU used to render the cinematic does not establish a retail platform or minimum PC requirement, and the PS5 technology demo does not by itself confirm the game’s launch platforms.
Quick Recap
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