The Witcher 4 developer CD Projekt Red is working closely with Epic Games in order to bring structural improvements to Unreal Engine 5.
During an interview on the Flow Games YouTube channel, Pawel Sasko, Associate Game Director at CD Projekt Red, shared his experience working with Unreal Engine 5. According to him, there are are some things that the engine is inherently “amazing” at doing. Though, he didn’t go into specifics regarding Unreal Engine 5, as he would have had to reveal things that the studio is working on with its future projects, including The Witcher 4 and the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel.
Furthermore, Sasko mentioned that every technology has its own set of limitations, and there are things he finds with Unreal Engine 5 that could be improved. Though, he added that the same could have been said about Red Engine 4, the most recent version of CD Projekt Red’s own proprietary engine, as well.
According to Sasko, engine improvements can sometimes also be a matter of perspective, where the development team at CD Projekt Red and Epic Games have different opinions on what is the better way to structure the engine. He said that a better approach has been to work together with Epic Games in figuring out the structural improvements that can be brought to Unreal Engine 5. This is as much as Sasko was able to share without revealing anything specific regarding any of the studio’s upcoming projects, all of which are being developed in Epic Games’ engine.
Previously, during its earnings call for the first quarter of the year 2024, CD Projekt Group shared that it was 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 came with certain challenges. However, the company remained confident about its collaboration with Epic Games and the development of specific tools for Project Polaris, as the engine maker has been providing the kind of support that CD Projekt had hoped for.
