CD Projekt Red wants The Witcher 4 to be much more than a simple technical evolution.
After the excellent impression aroused by the Tech Demo in Unreal Engine 5 shown at the State of Unreal 2025, even more significant words arrive on the writing front: in the sequel to The Witcher 3 there will be no room for the fetch quests, those repetitive and emptied missions of meaning that fill too many modern open world.
This is declared Philipp Weber, formerly this director of Wild Hunt (which you find on Amazon) and today narrative directors of the project. In an interview with Gamesradar, Weber was very direct: “We don’t do Fetch Quest,” said in no uncertain terms, underlining how every mission should make the player feel involved, immersed, and above all satisfied with the time spent.
The Polish study intends to build the secondary missions with the same care and narrative depth that made the Witcher 3 legendary. “A quest must tell something, even just a detail, but must be worth it”, explains Weber.
And it is a lesson that does not only come from Geralt’s journey, but also from the difficulties and teachings collected with Cyberpunk 2077, a title that has had a difficult launch but which, thanks to the post-launch work, has found its narrative dignity.
For now there is no release date, and indeed it is likely that The Witcher 4 ends up debuting directly on the next generation of consoles. In fact, CDPR confirmed that development is following a “console-first” approach, a clear indication of the long journey still to be made.
Yet, among the promises of a more mature narrative system and the desire to avoid any form of content “just to lengthen”, it is already possible to glimpse a direction.
If The Witcher 3 has redefined the way of telling stories in the open world context, The Witcher 4 seems to want to reiterate that, in this profession, the experience is seen in detail. And in the courage to say goodbye to what you no longer need.