CD Projekt RED is setting its sights high with The Witcher 4, adopting a console-first development strategy aimed squarely at delivering a 60 FPS experience on PlayStation 5-complete with hardware-based ray tracing. 
During an in-depth interview with Digital Foundry, Charles Tremblay, VP of Technology at CDPR, opened up about the studio’s approach and the challenges that lie ahead.
“In the past, we pushed PC first and scaled down to consoles, but it caused too many issues,” Tremblay explained. “This time, we’re flipping the script-focusing on consoles first to hit 60 FPS with all the visual fidelity we want. It’s a huge undertaking, but we believe it’s the right direction for The Witcher 4.”
The recent tech demo at the State of Unreal left fans buzzing, but Tremblay cautioned that it’s only a taste of what’s to come. “There’s no combat, no full gameplay loop yet-it’s just the beginning. But we’re committed to this vision,” he said.
While the PS5 is the main performance target, the Xbox Series S presents a much steeper hill to climb. “Honestly, we haven’t started optimizing for the Series S yet. Hitting 60 FPS there will be extremely challenging,” Tremblay admitted. Still, it’s on their radar, and work is expected to begin soon.
Interestingly, Epic Games has moved away from software-based Lumen ray tracing, opting instead for hardware RT Lumen-technology already showcased in the demo. CDPR plans to scale the game upwards for high-end PCs, but specific details remain under wraps.
With a projected release date around 2027 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, The Witcher 4 is shaping up to be a technical powerhouse. While much work remains, CDPR is clearly aiming to raise the bar once again.