CD Projekt Red Shares First Look at The Witcher 4 Engine Performance on PS5
Epic Games held its highly anticipated State of Unreal 2025 keynote today, offering a deep dive into the latest advancements in the Unreal Engine , along with major updates on partnerships and projects involving some of the biggest names in gaming — including CD Projekt Red .
The event kicked off with an exciting highlight: a live on-stage presentation of The Witcher 4 , shown in collaboration with the developers behind the series, marking one of the most anticipated moments of the show.
🧝♀️ First Look at The Witcher 4’s New Protagonist and World
As seen in the exclusive tech demo, Ciri takes center stage as the new protagonist of the upcoming trilogy. In this first official glimpse, players follow her journey through Kovir , a newly accessible mainland region in The Witcher universe that promises expansive exploration.
In the demo, Ciri rides her loyal steed Kelpie across breathtaking landscapes — from towering mountain ranges to dense forests — before arriving at the coastal town of Valdrest . The visuals showcased stunning environmental details, dynamic lighting, and fluid animations, all powered by Unreal Engine 5.
This early look highlights how CD Projekt Red is leveraging the engine’s full potential to deliver a more immersive and visually rich RPG experience than ever before.
📽️ A Glimpse Into the Future of Gaming
While this was only a tech demo and not actual gameplay footage, it gave fans a strong indication of what to expect in terms of world design, character detail, and graphical fidelity. The inclusion of real-time weather transitions, high-quality textures, and realistic NPC interactions suggests that The Witcher 4 is shaping up to be a technical showcase for next-gen consoles and PCs.
More details about gameplay mechanics, story elements, and release timing are expected in the coming months.
The Witcher 4 Tech Demo Runs at 60FPS on Base PS5, Promises Cross-Platform Optimization
One of the most surprising aspects of The Witcher 4 tech demo is that it was showcased running on a standard PlayStation 5 , delivering a smooth 60 frames per second even with its highly detailed visuals. This early look proves that CD Projekt Red is not only aiming for visual fidelity but also strong performance across all targeted platforms.
According to the developer, the technologies being developed and optimized for this new RPG will benefit players regardless of whether they’re playing on PC, Xbox Series X|S , or PlayStation 5 . This cross-platform approach aligns with CD Projekt Red’s commitment to delivering a consistent and high-quality experience across hardware generations.
The Witcher 4 is confirmed for release on:
- PC (Windows)
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
However, no official release date has been announced yet.
🗣️ Developer Praises Partnership with Epic Games
Michał Nowakowski, Joint CEO of CD Projekt Red , shared his thoughts on the partnership with Epic Games , which powers the game using Unreal Engine 5 :
“We began our collaboration with Epic Games to push the boundaries of open-world game development. Being able to show an early glimpse of our progress — including Unreal Engine 5 running at a steady 60 FPS on PlayStation 5 — marks a significant milestone in our journey. It’s a testament to the strong cooperation between our teams. But we’re far from done. I’m excited to see how this partnership continues to evolve and bring groundbreaking technology to life as development of The Witcher 4 progresses.”
The tech demo for The Witcher 4 not only impressed with its visuals and performance but also gave a deep look into the advanced technologies powering the next-generation RPG. Epic Games showcased several key components of Unreal Engine 5.6 , many of which are now available for developers to use in their own projects.
Among the most notable tools featured in the demo are:
- Unreal Animation Framework : Enables more realistic and dynamic character movement and interactions.
- Nanite Foliage Rendering : Allows for highly detailed environments with thousands of realistically rendered plants and trees without sacrificing performance.
- MetaHuman Technology : Powers lifelike facial animations and expressions, bringing characters like Ciri to life with unprecedented realism.
- Mass AI Crowd Scaling System : Ensures smooth performance even when large groups of NPCs populate the screen, essential for bustling cities and open-world exploration.
These features, among others, highlight how Unreal Engine 5.6 is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in modern game development — both visually and technically.
Epic has confirmed that many of these tools will be accessible to all developers using the engine, allowing indie studios and AAA teams alike to build richer, more immersive experiences with better optimization across platforms.
