The CD Projekt group today revealed that its long-term plans for its The Witcher franchise involve five new games developed by both in-house studios and third-party partners. Three of them are confirmed to be part of a brand new trilogy.
Currently in pre-production, Project Sirius (codename) is developed by Boston-based studio The Molasses Flood, which was acquired by CD Projekt last year.
It will differ from previous releases in the franchise, being “targeted at a broader audience” and including both single-player and multiplayer components.
Another project that’s currently in pre-production, codenamed Polaris, is actually the new Witcher game revealed back in March.
Developed by CD Projekt Red using Unreal Engine 5, it marks the start of a new trilogy. The developer aims to deliver all three titles in a period of 6 years following the release of Polaris.
Since all three titles are confirmed to be “large scale productions,” the second and third games will “benefit from the groundwork laid during the development of Polaris.”
The goal is to help streamline the development of these subsequent games while allowing the team behind them to focus on its creative vision.
Finally, Canis Majoris will be “another full-fledged Witcher production,” that’s being worked on by an external studio head by experienced developers who have worked on previous games in the series. This project will also use Unreal Engine 5 alongside the tools created for Polaris.
This is a change in strategy for CD Projekt, which is not just moving away from its proprietary Red Engine but also welcoming carefully selected external developers to work on its franchises.
Over the course of the past year, the company has also taken to rethink how it develops its games, after learning its lessons from Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled launch.
No release dates were given just yet for these new The Witcher games, but it certainly looks like fans hungry for more adventures in CD Projekt’s fantasy universe have plenty coming their way over the next couple of years.
Keep updated on the latest PC Gaming news by following GameWatcher on Twitter, checking out our videos on YouTube, giving us a like on Facebook, and joining us on Discord. We may also include links to affiliate stores, which gives us a small commission if you purchase anything via them. Thank you.
