CD Projekt Red's highly anticipated new game, Witcher 4, is preparing to impress players with much larger and more realistic settlements than previous series. The development team aims to make cities and towns more lively and crowded thanks to new generation technology. In this way, the aim is for players to feel like they are in a real medieval city.
Dense Settlements Coming with New Technology
Despite being one of the largest cities in the North, Novigrad in Witcher 3 was unable to truly feel like a giant city due to technical limitations. However, this is changing with Witcher 4. CD Projekt Red plans to use the possibilities of next-gen technology to house hundreds of NPCs (Non-Player Characters) even in the smallest towns. “We want to make the most of the generation transition. That’s why we’re rethinking everything,” said Jan Hermanowicz, engineering production manager.
In a recently shared tech demo, the port town of Valdrest in Kovir stood out. While it’s not as big as Novigrad in the game’s universe, it’s home to over 300 NPCs. This number shows how much detail CD Projekt Red wants to portray in the new game, offering a density similar to Witcher 3’s largest city in a small town.
The team aims to implement ideas that could not be implemented in Witcher 3 due to technical obstacles in Witcher 4. Hermanowicz said, “We looked at what we did in the past. We are shaping the new game by analyzing what we were able to achieve and what we could not achieve.” In this way, players will experience a more intense atmosphere and lively interactions in the towns.
Even a small town like Valdrest has been rendered in such detail, and it is already a matter of curiosity what the larger cities in the game will be like. The game has no release date yet, but it is not expected to be released before 2027. Witcher 4 has already created great anticipation.
