The Witcher Remake before 2028? CD Projekt asks for patience

CD Projekt Red is overseeing the ambitious remake of the first game The Witcher, which will be rebuilt from scratch in Unreal Engine 5 by Fool's Theory studio. Although the announcement of the project has excited the community, the release date of The Witcher Remake is far off: the title will not be playable before the release of The Witcher 4, with the most optimistic estimate being 2028 or later.

Fool's Theory, the Polish studio in charge of development, has already assisted Larian Studios in Baldur's Gate 3 and People Can Fly in Outriders, and has veterans who helped create the original The Witcher.

CD Projekt Red emphasized the need for patience. Adam Badowski, Studio Head at CD Projekt Red, stated that "it is still early and we want to ensure that the game is created with the utmost care and attention to detail, so while we are excited to share the news with you, we want to ask for patience, as it will take a little while before we start talking about this project in detail". This comment reflects CD Projekt Red's practice of only releasing games when they are ready, like Cyberpunk 2077, which took eight years between the first announcement (May 2012) and the release (December 2020).

The Witcher Remake will be an open-world game, more similar to the recent titles in the series, according to a transcript of a quarterly earnings call from CD Projekt Red (available in PDF on the company's website). This design change suggests that Fool's Theory may depart from a faithful remake, removing "outdated parts" of the original game, as mentioned by the studio to Edge magazine (via GamesRadar).

The story of The Witcher Remake takes place after Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher Saga novels, following Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter with supernatural powers, who wakes up in Kaer Morhen (the Witchers' fortress) with no memory. He pursues thieves who stole mutagens and the formula to create new Witchers, in events that directly lead to the beginning of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

It is still unknown if the approach will be similar to Final Fantasy VII Remake, with significant expansions of the original plot, but the open-world design reveals a willingness for deviations from the 2008 game (available in the Enhanced Edition).

With the ambition to turn the classic RPG into an open-world in Unreal Engine 5, and with the priority given to The Witcher 4, will CD Projekt Red and Fool's Theory be able to meet the high expectations of fans for a modernized classic without the long wait affecting the reception?