CD Projekt Red Co-Director Michał Nowakowski was interviewed by the YouTube channel Deconstructor of Fun explainedWhy after 20 years of development, the Polish studio replaced its REDengine engine with Unreal Engine 5.
Image source: CD Projekt Red
As a reminder, CD Projekt Red has been improving REDengine since 2007: The Witcher (REDengine), The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (REDengine 2), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (REDengine 3), and Cyberpunk 2077 (REDengine 4).
However, in 2022, CD Projekt Red announced that The Witcher 4, a remake of the original Witcher, Cyberpunk 2 and other new games from other studios will be produced on the American company Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 instead of REDengine.
The Ballads of the Past plug-in for The Witcher 3 is based on REDengine 3 (Image source: Steam)
Contrary to popular belief, CD Projekt Red’s move from REDengine to Unreal Engine 5 was not triggered by the numerous technical issues Cyberpunk 2077 encountered when it launched in December 2020.
“Many people think so, but this is a misunderstanding. The problem with cyberpunk is not REDengine.<...>As a company, we have always dreamed of creating games that are not technological, but visually and technically progressive. “Nowakovsky said.
As a result, CDPR and Epic Games reached a strategic partnership (Photo source: Epic Games)
Nowakowski said that the motivation for abandoning REDengine in favor of CD Projekt Red was the technical demo “The Matrix Awakens” released in 2021, which showed the Polish studio the prospect of creating games on Unreal Engine 5.
The Witcher 4 is expected to be released on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X and S in 2028. This project is positioned as the beginning of a new trilogy, “The biggest, boldest, most ambitious game yet” In the history of CD Projekt Red.
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