At Unreal Fest Orlando, the State of Unreal 2025 keynote kicked off with a major reveal: a first-look tech demo for The Witcher 4, presented by CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games. Designed to showcase the power of Unreal Engine 5, the demo revealed how both companies are working together to push the boundaries of open-world design.
The demo follows returning protagonist Ciri as she navigates the previously unseen region of Kovir a first for the Witcher game series. The sequence sees her traveling alongside her horse, Kelpie, from the mountain wilderness to the bustling port town of Valdrest, giving players an early look at the scale and detail of The Witcher 4’s expansive world.
Powered by Unreal Engine 5: New Tech With A Stunning Performance
Running on a PlayStation 5 at 60 FPS, the tech demo demonstrated several cutting-edge features that will define The Witcher 4’s gameplay and visual fidelity. These include:
- Unreal Animation Framework: Powers smooth, dynamic character movement even in densely populated scenes.
- FastGeo Streaming: Enables seamless streaming of complex environments with minimal load times.
- Nanite Foliage: Delivers ultra-detailed vegetation and terrain without sacrificing performance.
- MetaHuman and Mass AI Crowd Systems: Populate cities with lifelike NPCs and fluid crowd dynamics.
- ML Deformer: Adds hyper-realistic facial and muscle animations.
While the demo ran on PlayStation 5, all features will be supported across PC, Xbox Series X/S, and other target platforms.
A Milestone For The CDPR And Epic Games Partnership
CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games first announced their strategic partnership in 2022, and the fruits of that collaboration are now taking shape. The Witcher 4 is not only benefiting from UE5’s latest technology but also helping shape tools that will be made available to all developers, starting with Unreal Engine 5.6, which launched during the keynote.
"This is a significant milestone," said Michał Nowakowski, Joint-CEO of CD PROJEKT RED. "Our goal has always been to push open-world development forward, and this demo is just the beginning."
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney also gave words of praise for the collaboration:
"CD PROJEKT RED is one of the industry’s best open-world game studios, and we’re grateful that they’re working with us to push Unreal Engine forward with The Witcher 4. They are the perfect partner to help us develop new world-building features that we can share with all Unreal Engine developers."
The Witcher 4 Begins a New Saga
The Witcher 4 is an upcoming single-player open-world RPG from CD PROJEKT RED, the creators of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The beginning of a new saga, and a follow-up to one of the most acclaimed RPGs of all time, Ciri takes center stage as the protagonist, embarking on her own journey to become a professional monster slayer.
Set to be a single-player, open-world RPG, The Witcher 4 begins a new saga with Ciri as the playable lead. CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed the game will offer the most immersive Witcher experience to date, blending its dark fantasy roots with next-gen performance and tools.
No release date has been announced yet, but this tech demo is a major step forward in bringing the world of The Witcher 4 to life.
What are your thoughts on the tech demo presentation? Are you excited for this game? Let us know if you are going to pre-order it by leaving a comment down below!
As always, stay tuned to Gamefragger.com for more video game news!