CD Projekt delays Witcher 3 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S "until further notice"
As it shifts development in-house.
The Witcher 3's long-awaited PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version has been delayed indefinitely following CD Projekt's decision to move its development in-house.
An enhanced version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC - which would include the base game and its various expansions - was initially announced in September 2020, with CD Projekt promising to deliver the likes of ray-tracing and faster load times. All this would be made available as both a standalone version and as a free upgrade to those that already owned the game on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
It was a generous offer, but very little has been heard of the project since, with CD Projekt only intermittently mentioning it - usually in conjunction with word of another delay - as it continued its attempts to manage the fallout from Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch.
Witcher 3's most recent delay came last October, when CD Projekt explained that, based on “recommendations supplied by teams supervising development”, it was now aiming to launch in Q2 2022. However, that target has shifted again, with the developer blaming its latest delay on its decision to complete the remaining work on the game in-house.
Previously, the project was being developed by Saber Interactive, which had previously handled the acclaimed Witcher 3 Switch port.
"We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt wrote in a statement posted on Twitter earlier today. "We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice".
The studio says it will offer a progress update "as soon as we can".