CD Projekt RED initially announced The Witcher 3 Next-Gen port in September 2020. Although the team has not revealed much, it did state the new version will include support for ray tracing and other improved visual technology. This announcement led fans to get super hyped about the prospect of taking Geralt’s adventure onto the PS5 and XSX.
The port has gone two whole years without much of an update, as the team previously in charge worked away on the project. Saber Interactive was originally slated to develop the port, and had been working on it for some time. But with today’s change, that’s no longer the case. CD Projekt RED has just announced that this next-gen version has been indefinitely delayed.
“We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice.” said the company via Twitter.
The reason for the change was left unspecified, with the company saying that they have no further plans to announce at this time. The company also declined to comment on the exact reason for the move, fueling speculation. The current working theories behind the stitch are many, and remain unsubstantiated. The reasons cited could have something to do with the current war in Ukraine. It’s been reported that Saber Russia, a Saint-Petersburg studio, would handle the development.
CDPR confirmed at the time that Saber Interactive, which ported the game to the Nintendo Switch in 2019, would lead the development on the next-gen versions too. “They already know our technology very well,” studio president Adam Kiciński told investors at the time. It’s entirely possible that the ongoing sanctions against Russia could have played a role here.
