CD Projekt Red confirmed: development of The Witcher 4 is mainly by people.
- Witcher 4 is being developed mainly by people, not AI.
- Half of the studio (519 out of 1045) is working on the project.
- The release is scheduled for 2028 for PC, PS5, Xbox.
- AI is considered only as an auxiliary tool.
In the report for the first half of 2026, CD Projekt Red's co-CEO Michał Nowakowski once again commented on the role of generative artificial intelligence in the development processes. According to him, the company still relies primarily on human resources rather than AI when creating new projects.
Recall that in a conversation with investors in the spring of 2025, Nowakowski assured that CD Projekt Red would not use generative AI in the development of The Witcher 4 and other games in the near future. A year and a half later, the position has softened somewhat: 'We still primarily use people (not AI) to create games. That is our plan, and we are not abandoning it,' he noted.
Novakovsky characterized AI as "a tool that, like many others, helps in certain areas and can become more useful in the future." However, he emphasized that the company does not plan to rely on AI for creating full-fledged games, considering such an approach "wrong and unethical" due to the complexity of modern projects.
According to the company, almost half of its employees are already involved in the work on Witcher 4 – 519 people out of a total staff of 1,045. This makes the project the studio's top priority. The developers plan to release the game in 2028 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Witcher 4 is positioned as the beginning of a new trilogy and promises to be "the biggest, boldest, and most ambitious game" in the history of CD Projekt Red. An open world of massive size, intense gameplay, and a deep and powerful storyline that continues the traditions of the series is expected.
Novakovsky noted that each participant in the industry must independently draw conclusions about the application of AI in game development. The company maintains its focus on human creativity, viewing AI only as an auxiliary tool capable of simplifying certain tasks, but not replacing designers, writers, and programmers.
Thus, CD Projekt Red continues to develop its flagship project, relying on the experience and talent of its team, while also keeping an eye on technological trends, but not allowing them to dictate the main creative decisions.
Source: 3DNews
