The Witcher 4 Tech Demo in Unreal Engine 5 Stuns Fans, Confirms Ciri as Protagonist

 CD Projekt Red offers a glimpse into The Witcher 4’s stunning visuals and open-world mechanics through a new tech demo, while confirming the game’s release is not expected before 2026.

CD Projekt Red, the acclaimed studio behind The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, unveiled a tech demo of The Witcher 4 on Tuesday, June 3. The highly anticipated single-player, open-world RPG is being developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 and will be available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Running at 60 fps on a standard PlayStation 5, the tech demo highlighted a new, never-before-seen region called Kovir, where players will follow Ciri, the main protagonist of The Witcher 4. Accompanied by her horse, Kelpie, Ciri journeys through mountainous terrain and dense forests en route to a new port town named Valdrest. The footage also features her interactions with NPCs during a monster-hunting mission.

CD Projekt Red clarified that the demo is not actual gameplay from The Witcher 4, but a demonstration of the technical capabilities made possible through Unreal Engine 5. These include the Unreal Animation Framework, Nanite Foliage, MetaHuman technology, and Mass AI crowd systems, all contributing to a visually rich and immersive open world.

The studio explained how this collaboration with Epic Games helps them optimize for performance and graphical fidelity, aiming to bring the best experience on current-generation consoles. Julius Girbig, senior technical animator at CDPR, mentioned the decision to run the demo on a standard PS5 was intentional to showcase how the game performs on widely accessible hardware rather than high-end systems.

The tech demo also portrays a bustling town filled with lifelike NPC behavior—engaging in conversations, daily tasks, and even throwing drinks in a tavern—showcasing CDPR’s commitment to realism and detail.

Although fans were hoping for a gameplay reveal, the demo still offers a strong preview of what’s to come. CDPR reaffirmed that The Witcher 4 will not release before 2026.

As Unreal Engine 5 continues to gain traction in the industry, with mixed results in terms of performance, CD Projekt Red’s smooth 60 fps demo might signal a turning point for AAA studios looking to shift away from proprietary engines.