Witcher dev reveals new engine

The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red today unveiled its newest game engine, the REDengine 3. The third iteration of the company's in-house technology, the new engine has been built to develop open-world role-playing games with non-linear stories.

"If we look at RPGs nowadays we find two approaches, one which emphasizes the story but limits the game world, and one that builds a vast, open world but hampers and simplifies the story," said studio head Adam Badowski in a statement.

He said the REDengine 3 combines the positive components of both approaches, an industry-first, according to the developer. The new technology will allow players to roam a world without loading times, which will bring gaming "to a new level," he said.

CD Projekt Red said its upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077 is running on the technology, as well as a second and unannounced game. Reports have long suggested this game is in fact the long-rumored The Witcher 3, though CD Projekt Red has yet to officially announce Geralt's latest outing.

"The engine is a next-gen-ready solution that begins to blur the line between pre-rendered CGI movies and real time rendered graphics, bringing us closer to the most life-like world ever created in video games," the company said.

The REDengine 3 will also feature new face and body animation systems, capable of displaying "movie-quality scenes and character interactions." The technology uses "high-dynamic-range rendering with 64-bit precision" and also includes a range of post-processing effects. These include color grading and flares from many lights, as well as a "high-performance" terrain system allowing multiple layers to be blended.

Lastly, CD Projekt Red revealed a REDengine 3 screenshot (above right), showing a night-set waterside setting with mountains, trees, and clouds.