CDPR Confident In Transition To Unreal Engine 5 For New Witcher Game, Addresses Industry Layoffs
CD Projekt Red is confident in the transition from its in-house Red Engine to Unreal Engine 5 for the next Witcher game, internally referred to as Project Polaris.
During its earnings call for the first quarter of the year 2024, CD Projekt Group shared that it is optimistic about the potential of using Unreal Engine 5 for the next Witcher title. Regarding the transition from Red Engine, the company admitted that it as a significant shift that comes with certain challenges. However, it remained confident about its collaboration with Epic Games and the development of specific tools for Project Polaris, as the engine maker is providing the kind of support that CD Projekt had hoped for.
According to CD Projekt Red, the transition allows the development team to focus more on content creation rather than the core technology, which was more burdensome when using its own proprietary engine. The core technology provided by Unreal Engine 5 alleviates some of the burdens, allowing the team to concentrate on creative aspects. The development team believes that it is in a good position with the non-proprietary engine and is optimistic about its potential to enhance the development process and final product. That said, there are several aspects that still need to be worked on, including creating tools specifically tailored to the next Witcher game.
Regarding industry wide layoffs, CD Projekt termed them as unfortunate and primarily personal tragedies.While the company doesn’t plan layoffs of its own, it is focused on the potential opportunities this might create for its recruitment efforts, particularly in Boston and the U.S. Though, there won’t be any specific increases in recruitment directly due to layoffs happening in other companies, and the process will continue as planned, aligned with the company’s production schedule.
It was also revealed via the Q1 2024 financial report that, as of April 30, 2024, a vast majority of the development team at CD Projekt is working on the next Witcher game.
