CD Projekt RED is delaying the highly-anticipated next-gen version of 2015's Game of the Year The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt once again. After originally planning to get the game to Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X in the second half of 2021, the developer is now pushing back the release indefinitely with no timetable for an eventual release. According to an announcement on Twitter, CDPR is also moving the development of the game in-house.
"We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," CDPR said in the announcement. "We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice." With the move to take full control of the update's development, a 2022 release seems all but out the window at this juncture as the company infers where to go next with the upgrade. Saber Interactive, CDPR's external team that also created the Nintendo Switch port of The Witcher 3, was in charge of the project until this move.
It's the second delay that's plagued the next-gen upgrade of one of the most critically-acclaimed games of the eighth console generation. After it was clear they weren't going to meet a 2021 release date, CDPR pushed back both The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077's upgrades to 2022 with the former expected to drop sometime in Q2.
CDPR previously set the expectations for the next-gen upgrade as a sizable improvement on the previous generation versions in both graphics and performance all while providing the complete The Witcher 3 experience including all the expansions. One notable addition was that ray tracing was being added to the new versions to make the visuals pop and feel more lifelike. The new update was also supposed to tie in some extra content related to the Netflix show, allowing in-game Geralt to cosplay as Henry Cavill Geralt among other new features.
This all puts into question what's to become of the new Witcher game CDPR is working on with Epic Games. Although that game is nowhere near release and was only just announced last month, it begs the question if priorities will shift now that the company is taking full control of the next-gen ports. That new project is part of "a multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games," that'll see CDPR switch off of their in-house REDengine in favor of the new and improved Unreal Engine 5.
See the official announcement from CDPR below.