The remake of the first chapter in The Witcher game franchise will feature an open world. CD Projekt Red, the developers of the series announced the exciting news this week.
Open World RPG
The reveal came in CDPR's investor presentation for Q3 2022, where a slide described the game as a “story-driven, single player open-world RPG.” While details are still unclear about what the game will look like, it hints at a big change from the original.
The 2007 game was the first in the franchise and the developer's first ever project. It was followed by 2011’s The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The latter, in particular, saw the franchise become one of the most successful in gaming history.
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Codenamed Canis Majoris, third party studio Fool’s Theory will develop the remake. It will be built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5.
Following Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher was a much more linear experience than its more-famous 2015 successor. The first two games 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.
In a statement earlier this year, CDPR head of studio Adam Badowski said: "Going back to this place and remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience, it feels just as big, if not bigger."
A Lot More Witcher
The original developer is also working on two other Witcher projects, codenamed Polaris and Sirius. While Project Polaris is described as a story-driven open-world RPG built on the legacy of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Sirius is going to be a new take on the franchise, aimed at newcomers and fans alike.
The Witcher remake is probably still a while off yet, with no release date announced. We'll happily play the next-gen version of The Wild Hunt until then, which comes out on December 15.
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