Along with the launch of Unreal Engine 5.6, today's State of Unreal 2025 Livestream included a Tech Demo Cinematic from The Witcher 4 to build excitement for the next installment in the fantasy RPG series. In case it's not obvious, VGC got a confirmation that this is not actual gameplay, but rather a tech demo running on a PlayStation 5. "This is a tech demo, and a first look at the cutting-edge technology powering The Witcher 4," a spokesperson tells them. "But not The Witcher 4 itself." There are more details in an announcement from CD PROJEKT RED:
As Unreal Fest 2025 kicked off, CD PROJEKT RED joined Epic Games on stage to present a tech demo of The Witcher 4 in Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). Presented in typical CDPR style, the tech demo follows the main protagonist Ciri in the midst of a monster contract and shows off some of the innovative UE5 technology and features that will power the game’s open world.
The tech demo takes place in the region of Kovir — which will make its very first appearance in the video game series in The Witcher 4. The presentation followed main protagonist Ciri — along with her horse Kelpie — as she made her way through the rugged mountains and dense forests of Kovir to the bustling port town of Valdrest. Along the way, CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games dove deep into how each feature is helping drive performance, visual fidelity, and shape The Witcher 4’s immersive open world.
Xero wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 17:51:
Looking forward to catching it after work at home.
If I recall, the original trailer to Witcher 3 had some controversy because the gameplay graphics were very different than what actually was when it came out. I can't quite recall which was better as I haven't see the trailer in quite some time, however I remember quite the noise when people said the graphics didn't match that trailer. I'd assume they looked better (for vanilla Witcher 3) though Witcher 3 NextGen would obviously be better nowadays. Not to mention all the mods you could add that really overhaul everything into a more modern type game.
Xero wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 17:51:
If I recall, the original trailer to Witcher 3 had some controversy because the gameplay graphics were very different than what actually was when it came out. I can't quite recall which was better as I haven't see the trailer in quite some time, however I remember quite the noise when people said the graphics didn't match that trailer. I'd assume they looked better (for vanilla Witcher 3) though Witcher 3 NextGen would obviously be better nowadays. Not to mention all the mods you could add that really overhaul everything into a more modern type game.
Simon Says wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 15:39:
Found the link to the 4K video, enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0QPm6E2ZJw
EDIT: LOL, the 4K video looks blurry even on a 1440p monitor. What is this shite?
Simon Says wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 15:23:
1080P on Youtube of all places in 2025 for a tech demo featuring cutting edge graphics tech should be criminal.
The compression is horrendous and the rest is a blurry mess.
Who thought that was a good idea? ...
Bodolza wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 14:16:
I've been playing Horizon: Forbidden West lately, which is a non-Unreal Engine game, and I'm astounded at the load times. I've gotten so used to Unreal games taking minutes to load that it surprises me every time that I can be through the main menu and into the game in under 10 seconds.
_Cory wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 12:50:
So disappointing that CDPR ditched REDEngine.
Overon wrote on Jun 3, 2025, 13:40:
Also haven't we gamers learned after decades that tech demos don't represent the product's final fidelity? It's all misleading.