Earlier today, someone discovered a hidden Easter egg in The Witcher 3. Essentially, it focused on an NPC who is said to die in seven years. If players wait seven years in-game time, then they'll discover this NPC is actually dead. This discovery is a bit ironic because it's been nearly seven years since The Witcher 3 has released. CD Projekt Red has, in that time, teased and discussed a potential new game, but it appears this Easter egg isn't the big CD Projekt Red news today.
CD Projekt Red has confirmed the development of a new Witcher game on Twitter. It posted two simple things: a new teaser image and a link. Although the site quickly went down as fans flooded to the site, it simply says that a new Witcher game is in development, kicking off a new saga for the franchise. It further goes on to discuss its development on Unreal Engine 5, a partnership with Epic Games, and how details like a release window are not yet available.
The most eye-catching part of this teaser image is the medallion. It's certainly not from the Wolf School, nor does it appear to correlate with any other Witcher school known to exist. This would suggest that it could be a brand new school, a brand new character, and/or set in another universe. It could be set far before the events, indicating this could be a forgotten or banished school, but for now, it's simply speculation. It is something new, though, and that's exciting.
CD Projekt Red reveals it's also partnering with Epic Games to move this new game from REDengine to Unreal Engine 5, tailoring it for open-world games. It'll be interesting to see how this latest tech impacts the game, but it should be a big move for the franchise. It does also confirm that it doesn't intend to make this new Witcher game exclusive to one storefront, namely the Epic Games Store. How all of this does impact the game remains to be seen, as CD Projekt Red doesn't spill too many beans here, but it'll be interesting to see if it shares more Witcher news later this year.
It's unlikely that there will be much, if any news though. This is seemingly very early in development, and a lot of CD Projekt Red's marketing and community contact will likely be focused on Cyberpunk 2077. It's too early yet to say if Cyberpunk 2077 is redeemed for its launch yet, but this announcement is hopefully good news for the developer.
A new Witcher game is in development.