CD Projekt Red has pulled back the curtain on The Witcher 4, offering the clearest glimpse yet at the future of its iconic RPG series. From a stunning new cinematic to an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo running at 60fps on PlayStation 5, this showcase marks a major turning point for the franchise. Siri leads this new chapter, and the world she explores is more dynamic, reactive, and visually striking than ever before.
Siri Leads the Story in a Stunning New Region
The reveal began with a cinematic trailer that transitions seamlessly into in-engine footage. Siri now takes center stage in The Witcher 4, following a mysterious smuggling route ambushed by a manticor. Her journey leads her to the region of Kovir, a breathtaking land filled with dense forests, quiet hills, and hidden dangers. Valdres, a gritty port town within the region, acts as a narrative hub filled with political intrigue, shady dealings, and branching questlines.
The demo hints at a layered quest system built around tough decisions and reactive storytelling. With Siri investigating the fate of a destroyed wagon and the monstrous predator responsible, CD Projekt Red is clearly aiming to blend cinematic storytelling with sandbox-style world-building.
Unreal Engine 5 Pushes Technical Boundaries
The tech demo showcased at the State of Unreal 2025 event stunned viewers with its performance and fidelity. Running at 60fps with ray tracing on a standard PlayStation 5, the footage looked almost too good to be true. From the flowing hair on Siri’s head to the intricate lighting in the forests of Kovir, every detail has been elevated by Unreal Engine 5’s latest systems.
A key upgrade is the Nanite foliage system, which enables fully 3D-rendered leaves and vegetation with true lighting and shadow interaction. Gone are flat 2D textures—this is full adaptive voxel-based rendering. The tech not only improves immersion but also boosts performance by eliminating traditional LOD systems.
In terms of asset loading, the new world streaming system eliminates the texture pop-ins that plagued The Witcher 3. Environments now load seamlessly, delivering a truly immersive experience.
Next-Gen NPCs, Crowd Systems, and Horse Physics
CD Projekt Red’s commitment to immersion goes beyond visuals. NPCs now feature dynamic behavior, powered by technologies like MetaHuman, smart objects, and Chaos Cloth. Crowds in Valdres interact naturally with Siri and each other, reacting to the environment and events in real time.
The demo even displayed 300 individual NPCs on screen, each moving with fluid animations and no noticeable frame drops. This marks a massive leap over older systems and suggests that towns in The Witcher 4 will feel genuinely alive.
On the gameplay side, Siri’s horse Kelpy replaces Geralt’s Roach. With multi-angle mounting animations and real-time muscle deformation, Kelpy doesn’t just look good—it feels real. All of this runs smoothly without performance dips, showing just how advanced the new animation pipeline is.
Final Teases and a Look Ahead
Toward the end of the demo, fans got a quick glimpse of Lan Exeter, the capital city of Kovir. The scene closes on Siri gazing across the winter city skyline, whispering “Onward, Kelpy. We’ve work to do.” It’s a quiet moment, but a powerful signal of what lies ahead.
From improved crowd simulation to redefined open-world streaming, The Witcher 4 isn’t just a sequel—it’s a technical statement. With a more grounded protagonist, smarter world design, and next-generation systems across the board, this could be CD Projekt Red’s most ambitious game to date.
