The presentation of The Witcher 4 is not a real gameplay, but only a technical demo to demonstrate the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5
Recently, CD Projekt Red took to the stage during the State of Unreal presentation to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the upcoming The Witcher 4 game, which is being developed on Unreal Engine 5. In a segment that lasted a few minutes, CDPR representatives took the audience through the world of The Witcher 4, demonstrating what seemed to be our first look at the gameplay of this open-world RPG. But it is not that simple.
Here's What We Know
However, in a statement released shortly after the event, it was confirmed that what we saw was not The Witcher 4, but a tech demo created using the same technology behind The Witcher 4. This means that the stunning visuals and graphics shown in the demo should not be taken at face value.
Fans were quick to remind us that CDPR has done this many times before: showing something stunning and then not keeping its promises about the visuals at the time of the game's release. It happened with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) and, most memorably, with Cyberpunk 2077 (2020).
A statement provided by VGC revealed:
"This is a technical demo, and a first look at the advanced technology behind 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, as well as the core systems and features we're developing with Unreal Engine 5. We're very proud of this early stage and excited to give you a sneak peek at some of the cool technologies like UAF, Nanite Foliage, Smart Objects, ML Deformer, and FastGeo Streaming that are helping to shape the future of The Witcher.
Will The Witcher 4 look as good when it's released? Probably not - but experience suggests it will look almost as good. After all, The Witcher 3 is ten years old and still looks good. Still, this situation is a reminder that high-profile demonstrations of game graphics should be treated with caution.
Source: VGC
