CD Projekt RED has officially confirmed that the next installment in The Witcher series will be getting a physical release. The news should make collectors unconditionally happy, but it also comes with an important caveat: When the project launches, the industry may finally abandon optical media, and studios will have to adapt to new rules for platform holders.
In a recent interview, CDPR co-executive Michal Nowakowski said the company is well aware of the box set’s value to the fan base. The developers intend to maintain their signature approach to physical copies, traditionally offering them delightful offline rewards including world maps, reference books, stickers and other memorabilia.
The main issue is the expected release window. The Witcher 4 is not expected to be released until 2028. According to Nowakowski, the eventual availability of the disc in the box will depend entirely on Sony and Microsoft’s hardware policies. If console manufacturers decided to get rid of disk drives entirely in their devices at this point, CDPR would be forced to release games in a compromised “code-in-the-box” format.
Nowakovsky emphasized that the studio does not have enough influence to dictate technical conditions to platform holders. However, CD Projekt RED promises to do everything possible to ensure that die-hard fans of the series get a valuable and tangible representation of The Witcher’s new chapter, even if the game itself will only exist in the form of a digital code by then.