CDPR Once Again Reiterates That The Witcher 4 Won't Look Like Its Demo Showcase

"We took a lot of lessons from the Cyberpunk launch."

From repeated claims about "the showcased product running on PlayStation 5" to a person apparently playing as Ciri with a PS5 controller and the absence of a "Not Actual Gameplay" disclaimer in the original State of Unreal presentation – it's easy to see why many assumed The Witcher 4's tech demo shown in early June was actual gameplay foorage.

As a result, it seems that ever since that presentation took place, CD Projekt Red has been on an expectations-tampering crusade, repeating over and over that what we saw wasn't the actual game but rather a showcase meant solely to demonstrate the tech powering The Witcher 4, reiterating this point yet again in a recent interview.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, CDPR's Engineering Production Manager Jan Hermanowicz reaffirmed that the tech demo in question had no actual gameplay, and although it comprised "actual assets from CD Projekt Red," that doesn't mean those same assets will appear in the final product.

According to Hermanowicz, the studio "took a lot of lessons from the Cyberpunk launch" and doesn't want to create unrealistic expectations about how the game will look based on a tech demo, trying instead to be "extremely transparent," which is why they addressed this topic so many times in the past month.

"We're not calling this gameplay, we're not pretending that this is the actual game. It is a technological demo," the developer commented. "A lot of people might see it like [gameplay]. We want to remain stalwart that this is a showcase of technology."

Hermanowicz further revealed that The Witcher 4 is still very early in development, indicating that the game's approach to "the art style and the visual direction" shown both in the demo and in The Game Awards 2024 cinematic trailer revealing Ciri as the protagonist is also subject to change.

Speaking of the cinematic trailer, Platige Image recently shared some details about how the duel between Ciri and Bauk was staged, revealing that they built a massive 7-meter rig suspended from the ceiling, operated by three people to control the creature's attacking arms, as well as a slew of other insights. You can check out the full breakdown over here.

Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

Join discussion

Comments 10

Anonymous user
So if the finished product doesnt resemble the tech demo, what is even the point of the tech demo?
4
Anonymous user
·17 days ago·
Anonymous user
It looked decent. Best thing was the Nanite update for foliage.

Probably 1080p on PS5.

Unreal 5 although decent has had trouble with jerky stuttery gameplay. Many ue4 originally had some of this.

As for Graphics, RT has been done on PS5 already, Spiderman, ratchet and clank.

Demon souls remake is still one of the best looking games there is on any system.

Lastly nothing is going to change graphically until the current shader model has been changed and the 5090 won't be any good for it either. Graphics are stuck and no path Tracing isn't the answer either.

0
Anonymous user
·16 days ago·
Anonymous user
I have to wonder how many in here are actual gamers. A tech demo is never a true representation of a game. It was a presentation showing the engine they are using. The cutscenes may look like that but while it will look good, you cannot compare this to the final product.
0
Anonymous user
·16 days ago·
Anonymous user
So, they're going to make her look like a guy then? That's what the trailer looked like... just stating a fact we all see. She had a jawline so manly, I was looking for beard stubble. Make women feminine again. We're different than men, and that's ok 👌
0
Anonymous user
·16 days ago·
Anonymous user
It's amazing how people can't comprehend what "tech demo" actually means. The whole point of the presentation was to show off the TECH they are working on. In this case it was about the muscle based animation, dynamic cutscenes, nanite improvements, direction based animation sync and how capable the engine is when it comes to rendering a large amounts of detailed NPCs in a scene. There is a reason it was presented at the Unreal Fest of all places
0
Anonymous user
·16 days ago·
Anonymous user
They learned absolutely nothing

You can't just say "but the game won't actually be like that" to avoid the expectation set, zero point of showing something that it won't be lol
1
Anonymous user
·16 days ago·
Anonymous user
Well at least they're being transparent so that way they won't be accused later of putting out something in fear to what they saw in the demo and for all intents and purposes I'm appreciative of that
-1
Anonymous user
·16 days ago·
Anonymous user
Still amazes me people think current consoles could produce this level of graphical fidelity at playable frame rates and at an acceptable resolution.

Grow up.
-1
Anonymous user
·17 days ago·
Anonymous user
Is this just a clickbait/ragebait website? The message from cdpr has been that the footage they showed is a demo area they made for the demo, but emphasised that they showed it running on ps4 as to not pull another cyberpunk... theyve done the opposite of what this article is making out.

Such a sad article this is...
1
Anonymous user
·17 days ago·
Anonymous user
I just dont understand the point of the tech demo that implies gameplay will be similar. Its misleading even with a disclaimer and back tracking. Should have stuck to trailers. Or just a video on rails instead of the whole ps5 dog and pony show.
2
Anonymous user
·17 days ago·

CDPR Once Again Reiterates That The Witcher 4 Won't Look Like Its Demo Showcase

Join discussion

Comments 10

You might also like

We need your consent