CD Projekt RED just gave Witcher fans their closest look at The Witcher 4 to kick off Unreal Fest 2025. The Witcher 4’s Sebastian Kalemba (Game Director) and Kajetan Kapuscinksi (Cinematic Director) took the stage with Epic’s Senior Director of Product Strategy, Wyeth Johnson, for a tech demo that showcased some of the anticipated sequel’s all-new features and stunning visuals that are made possible thanks to the advanced tools available in Unreal Engine 5.6.
The presentation began with a new cinematic trailer that sets the stage for Ciri’s adventures in Valdrest, a busy port town nestled in the mountain region of Kovir. From there, we’re shown a small section of The Witcher 4 world running on a standard PlayStation 5, at 60 frames per second, and with ray tracing enabled. The tech demo utilized Witcher 4’s beautifully rendered environments and intricate character details as a vehicle for demonstrating how Unreal Engine 5 is ushering in a new era of open-world gaming.
The lush forests of Kovir were ideal for flaunting the game’s vibrant foliage, and they explained how such rich color, texture, and light are made possible.
“So, we are excited to introduce Nanite Foliage,” Johnson began. “...In order to achieve gorgeous foliage density everywhere while still being memory-efficient, fast to render, we believe that a new idea was needed. So, instead of the same card approach we've been using for the past 20 years, artists should be free to take a nanite approach to foliage, modeling every single leaf and pine needle.”
We also met Ciri’s faithful steed, Kelpie. Just as integral as Geralt’s companion, Roach, CD Projekt RED aspires to make Witcher 4’s horse riding more seamless than ever before.
Johnson elaborated. “To support that, we’re introducing multi-character motion matching in Unreal. So, Ciri and Kelpie–they’re perfectly synchronized when mounting from any angle and speed. And we also support root motion movement on Kelpie, so controlling her feels realistic and grounded.”
The promise of smooth, fluid gameplay also extends beyond Ciri’s time with Kelpie. The tech demo showcased a long and seamless single-shot transition from the dense mountain forests back to Ciri in Valdrest. The display highlighted CD Projekt RED’s no-compromises approach to artistry and performance.
“And no compromise means how ambitious we are when it comes to bringing our vision to life with incredible visuals,” Kalemba chimed in. “But more than that, together with Epic, we created a faster way to load the world. We can now bring in more content more quickly for the smoothest possible experience…”
The CD Projekt RED team has made it clear that Witcher 4 represents their most ambitious venture into open-world creation yet, and today’s tech demo is just a small glimpse into what longtime fans can expect. While we’re still without a release window, we’ll keep you caught up on all future Witcher 4 updates.
For more on The Witcher 4 and today’s State of Unreal tech demo, visit the CD Projekt RED Press Center.