The Witcher Remake Will Be Fully Open World, Unlike The Original

The recently announced remake of The Witcher in Unreal Engine 5 will be fully open world, marking a major change from the original game.

Developer CD Projekt Red announced the news as part of its Q3 2022 earnings report, where it listed the title, codenamed Canis Majoris, as a "story-driven, single player open-world RPG–a modern reimagining of 2007's The Witcher." That the game will be open world wasn't mentioned during its initial announcement in October.

Though the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is open world, the first two entries in The Witcher series are not. Instead, the first two games in the franchise featured large open zones players could explore. However, progressing the story past certain key points would move players to a new zone, closing off the previous area entirely. The earnings report doesn't elaborate further on how the new open world approach may change other aspects of the game.

Other details about The Witcher remake are sparse. As part of the game's 15th anniversary, CD Projekt Red announced it was partnering with Polish studio Fool's Theory on the remake, which is composed of "veteran Witcher series staff" who have worked on previous entries in the series. Fool's Theory will be the primary developer, with CD Projekt Red providing "full creative supervision."

"They know the source material well, they know how much gamers have been looking forward to seeing the remake happen, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games," CD Projekt Red said in a blog post officially announcing the remake. "And although it will take some time before we're ready to share more about and from the game, I know it'll be worth the wait."

It doesn't sound like The Witcher remake is coming anytime soon, but the free next-gen update for The Witcher 3 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC is right around the corner. The December 14 update will add performance and quality modes for Xbox Series X|S and PS5 players as well as ray-tracing and ambient occlusion on both consoles and PC. On PS5, the Witcher 3 will make use of the DualSense controller's haptic feedback, with all three versions receiving new content in the form of swords and armor inspired by the Netflix's Witcher television show and a new photo mode.