‘The Witcher’ will be remade with Unreal Engine 5

CD Projekt Red has revealed a slew of projects in the works, including numerous entries in The Witcher franchise. One of them was codenamed “Canis Majoris,” and it was later revealed to be a “full-fledged” Witcher game built by an external team on Unreal Engine 5. CDPR has now provided further information about the project. Canis Majoris, it turns out, is a remake of the first entry in the series.

Under CDPR’s supervision, the Polish company Fool’s Theory is reconstructing The Witcher. Because it is still in the early phases of production, the game will most likely be at least a couple of years away. CDPR said it will take some time before discussing the proposal in any depth. It did clarify, however, that Fool’s Theory is creating The Witcher Remake from the ground up using the same technology that CDPR is using for earlier games in the series. For what it’s worth, the Fool’s Theory development team comprises members of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Going back to the beginning makes a lot of sense for CDPR. The Witcher was released in 2007, and although it earned positive reviews, it wasn’t until The Witcher 3 (and the Netflix program based on the source books) that the brand gained traction. It’s hardly a leap to think that gamers who discovered the series later might be interested in Geralt of Rivia’s early exploits.

Furthermore, The Witcher was exclusively available on PC and Mac. While PS3 and Xbox 360 versions were announced, they never materialized. Given the bigger audience of gamers available, it is doubtful that CDPR will not develop console versions this time. Meanwhile, The Witcher 3’s current-gen version is set to be released before the end of the year.