CDPR Clarifies Witcher Demo Was Not The Witcher 4 Gameplay, Confirms No Changes to Ciri’s Design

Following the recent celebration of The Witcher 3’s 10th anniversary, CD Projekt RED took the spotlight at this week’s State of Unreal presentation in Orlando, Florida. During the event, fans were treated to an impressive real-time tech demonstration—but CDPR has now clarified that what was shown should not be mistaken for actual The Witcher 4 gameplay.

In a statement to VideoGamesChronicle, a CD Projekt RED spokesperson explained:

“This is a tech demo, and a first look at the cutting-edge technology powering The Witcher 4 – but not The Witcher 4 itself. It showcases the powerful foundation we’re building in close collaboration with Epic Games to push open-world design further than ever before and the core systems and features we’re developing using Unreal Engine 5. We’re really proud of this early milestone and excited to give you a sneak peek at some of the cool tech, like UAF, Nanite Foliage, Smart Objects, ML Deformer, and FastGeo Streaming, that are helping shape the future of The Witcher.”

The footage, captured on a base PlayStation 5 console, demonstrated the demo running at 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled, highlighting Unreal Engine 5’s performance even on current-gen hardware. CDPR first announced its transition from REDengine to UE5 in 2022, with the goal of not only improving their own workflow but contributing to the broader game development community.

Given that The Witcher 4 is not expected to launch until 2027 or later, this early showcase focused solely on the technology behind the game rather than offering a glimpse into actual gameplay content.

No Redesign for Ciri

Following the demo, some fans speculated that Ciri’s appearance had changed compared to her look in The Witcher 3 and the 2024 teaser trailer. However, in a statement to Kotaku, CD Projekt RED dispelled these concerns:

“It’s the same character model used in the 2024 trailer. Ciri’s face is a direct copy of The Witcher 3 model, adapted to work with the latest MetaHuman technology. Two subtle changes were made to improve animation quality: slightly raised eyebrows, and a more relaxed eye area—the latter was present in the trailer but has since been removed.”

This statement reinforces that no major visual overhaul has occurred for the fan-favorite character—only technical refinements to support improved facial animations using Epic’s MetaHuman tools.

Epic Rolls Out Unreal Engine 5.6

The event also included the official release of Unreal Engine 5.6, bringing new tools and enhancements aimed at further empowering developers. CD Projekt RED’s tech demo served as a showcase of what’s possible with UE5.6, setting high expectations for the future of The Witcher series.

Are you excited about the future of The Witcher with Unreal Engine 5? What would you love to see in The Witcher 4? Let us know in the comments below!