CD Projekt Red has come a long way since it shipped the original Witcher game in 2007. 15 years later the studio has grown to span two continents and produce not just multiple franchises, but multiple games within those franchises at once.
While we knew it was planning to develop two games simultaneously going forward, the Poland-based developer kicked down the doors of the AAA gaming space in October 2022 as it announced four new Witcher games, a new Cyberpunk, and another, brand new project all at once.
The explosion of information has led to some complicated ideas though, with lots of numbers and orders, and schedules being thrown around. CD Projekt Red's next three releases will be Witcher games, for example, but these aren't the new Witcher trilogy. Confusing!
To keep on top of things, IGN has put together this list of every CD Projekt Red game currently in development, as well as what we know about the release timeline. The developer also said it's opening itself up to partnerships with external studios for mobile games based on its franchises, but as nothing specific has been announced yet, these won't be on the list.
Most games currently just have codenames (which are named after stars, because CD Projekt Red is "reaching for the stars"), but we've also explained in plainer terms what each game actually is.
Polaris, aka The Witcher 4
CD Projekt Red confirmed that a new Witcher game that would mark the beginning of a new saga was in development in March 2022, and though it's not officially called The Witcher 4, this one can be thought of as the true next Witcher game.
Later revealed to be codenamed Polaris, the new game won't be released until 2025 at the earliest as it only entered pre-production in May 2022. It's also being developed in Unreal Engine 5, a new endeavor for CD Projekt Red that's essentially requiring them to create everything from the ground up and establish a new foundation for its games going forward. It will, however, be one of the next two games released by CD Projekt Red.
There aren't any real story details on Polaris so far, though we know it will be the first game in a new trilogy and its teaser images show a Witcher medallion depicting a Lynx, causing many to speculate that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's Ciri will be the new protagonist (as Geralt is officially out of the picture).
The last tidbit of information on Polaris is that CD Projekt Red's Jason Slama will be directing it. Slama most recently was game director of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game and has promised no crunch will take place at the studio following its Cyberpunk 2077 controversy.
Sirius, The Molasses Flood Game
Another Witcher game, codenamed Sirius, is in development at The Molasses Flood, the developer of The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow which was bought by CD Projekt Red in October 2021. It is the only other game, alongside Polaris, that's currently in development under CD Projekt Red's umbrella (outside of the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion), though it is still in pre-production.
The game will have single-player elements like a story and quests but will also blend in multiplayer components, with CD Projekt Red confirming explicitly that players will be able to play together. While Sirius is set in the Witcher universe and is being developed with support from CD Projekt Red, however, it won't follow the open-world RPG formula of either Polaris or The Witcher 3.
It is instead "targeted at a broader audience", and while we don't know exactly what that means, CD Projekt Red's Michał Nowakowski said it is "definitely not a smaller game" and "definitely not a mobile game". It's instead looking to bring in people who are interested in the Witcher franchise, perhaps because of the Netflix show or books, but aren't interested in playing a "hardcore roleplaying game" he added.
No further details were shared, but we can ascertain from various job listings from The Molasses Flood that Sirius will likely feature stylized art and some form of procedurally generated levels with leveling up and a combat system, perhaps suggesting a survival or rogue-like game. It's unclear when we'll find out more, but Sirius will be one of the next three games to be released from CD Projekt Red.
Canis Majoris, Another Open World Witcher RPG
Polaris is kicking off another trilogy of traditional Witcher games but these won't be the only "full-fledged" entries on the horizon. Canis Majoris is the codename for another AAA, story-driven Witcher RPG, but this one is only being published by CD Projekt Red.
A currently unknown developer, led by industry veterans who have worked on previous Witcher games, will instead create a new entry in Unreal Engine 5 using the same toolset as Polaris. CD Projekt Red president and joint CEO Adam Kiciński confirmed that Canis Majoris will arrive after Polaris as a result, meaning it's also at least three years away, and likely more.
Though we don't know who's making it at the moment, we know who isn't. Rebel Wolves - a studio formed by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's game director and various other former CD Projekt Red employees - confirmed that it's not the mysterious studio behind the spin-off after it was hounded by fans who expected its own AAA dark fantasy to be the new Witcher game.