CD Projekt Red is taking a proactive approach to performance optimization for its next major title, The Witcher 4, aiming to prevent the widespread technical issues that plagued Cyberpunk 2077 at launch. The studio is now running the game on all its intended platforms throughout development.
"You come to the studio, you launch Witcher 4 right now," said studio co-CEO Michal Nowakowski. "You can launch it on PC. You can launch it on PS5. You can launch it on Xbox Series X, and it's going to run." This strategy stands in contrast to the common practice of leaving performance tuning until the later stages of development, a method that proved particularly detrimental for Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 faced severe performance problems, especially on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, leading to its temporary removal from the PlayStation Store. While the game performed better on newer consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, it still encountered its own set of issues. Nowakowski attributed the earlier approach to a desire to push visual boundaries and a "false belief" that scaling down the experience for consoles would be straightforward, a lesson learned from The Witcher 3.
Nowakowski acknowledged that the studio "got a bit lucky here and there" with Cyberpunk 2077's console performance, and stated, "Since then, we don't take chances. We want to be sure that it actually works." This commitment to early optimization extends to how CD Projekt Red tracks development progress and addresses platform-specific challenges. The studio now aims to hit all technical milestones, moving away from the past practice of deferring fixes that could accumulate into more significant problems later in the development cycle.
The Witcher 4 is currently slated for a 2028 release, with development targeting PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. This extended timeline is intended to ensure a stable and polished launch across all platforms.