The Witcher 4 Already Runs on PS5 and Xbox as CD Projekt Red Tries to Avoid Another Cyberpunk 2077 Launch

CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 4 already runs on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, as the studio changes how it develops the game after the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077.

Game Developer reports that CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michał Nowakowski said developers can currently launch The Witcher 4 across all three platforms, giving the studio an early view of performance instead of leaving console optimization until later in development.

During Cyberpunk 2077 development, CD Projekt Red focused heavily on the PC version while expecting console performance to improve closer to release, but that approach contributed to serious technical problems when the game arrived on PlayStation and Xbox.

CD Projekt Red now stops development when targets are missed

Nowakowski explained that The Witcher 4 development now follows stricter technical checkpoints, and the team cannot simply move forward when one or more important performance targets remain incomplete.

He said the studio previously allowed missed technical goals to carry into later milestones because developers expected to fix them along the way, but those unfinished tasks sometimes accumulated until solving them became much harder.

The new process means CD Projekt Red checks each version of The Witcher 4 throughout development and addresses problems before moving ahead, which should reduce the risk of one platform receiving less attention.

The Witcher 4 remains a large open-world project built with Unreal Engine 5, so the game will still require extensive optimization before its planned 2028 launch. However, CD Projekt Red’s decision to keep PC, PS5, and Xbox builds running throughout production shows how directly the studio has changed its development process after Cyberpunk 2077.