Earlier this year, during Epic's State of Unreal presentation, we were treated to a stunning The Witcher IV tech demo that served as a preview of the level of graphics fidelity CD Projekt RED aims for with the final game. Such a great demo excited the franchise's millions of fans in anticipation of the day they'll get to play it.
There's still a long way before the game's launch, though. While development has been going at full speed (and with more developers than ever, 444 at the last count), CD Projekt RED has confirmed that The Witcher IV won't release before 2027. In the meantime, fans are starving for tidbits, and one such thing was provided this week via X by Narrative Director (previously Quest Designer on The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077) Philipp Weber. After sharing a picture of Crossroads of Ravens, the latest book written by saga creator Andrzej Sapkowski (out on September 30 in English), a fellow user asked whether any of the book's points would be taken from this new book into The Witcher IV. This was Weber's response:
I can't reveal how exactly we'll do it, but Season of Storms also came out while we developed The Witcher 3, so we still tried to include some of the new elements. You can expect something similar!
Granted, Crossroads of Ravens is a prequel book. So was Season of Storms, but Crossroads of Ravens is the earliest book in the timeline as far as Geralt's character is concerned. As such, it's hard to imagine CD Projekt RED incorporating more than just a few general ideas into The Witcher IV, which takes place much later in the storyline.
The good news is that CD Projekt RED has long since 'solidified' its relationship with Sapkowski himself. As you may recall, Sapkowski, a self-progressed non-gamer, initially licensed the game rights for a relative pittance. After witnessing the enormous success of the third installment, though, the author eventually demanded $16 million from the Polish studio, alleging that those rights were only valid for the first game.
A little over a year later, the two parties reached a new agreement, which included a 'framework for future cooperation'. As such, it is possible CD Projekt RED may have already picked Sapkowski's mind to ensure their vision for The Witcher IV is in line with the author's.
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