The Witcher remake has officially entered production but will not release anytime soon

The Witcher series, at this point, is a household name when it comes to fantasy role-playing games. The series, which originally comes from a collection of novels of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, has earned its name with some stellar games developed by the Polish development studio, CD PROJEKT RED.

Very recently, CD PROJEKT RED announced that they have started production on a "full-fledged remake" of the game that began it all, the first Witcher game. Previously code-named "Canis Majoris," the remake will be built from the ground up using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5. The game has already entered the early stages of production alongside another Polish development studio, Fool's Theory.

The announcement comes from CD PROJEKT RED's head and co-founder Adam Badowski, who gave some fascinating insights on how the studio is approaching the decade-old source material. He also shed light on how they plan to modernize the original The Witcher game, bringing it more in line with the studio's magnum opus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

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CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed that The Witcher remake will be built on the Unreal Engine 5

CD PROJEKT RED's studio head Adam Badowski stated that the team at both CDPR and Fool's Theory are handling the project of remaking The Witcher with "utmost care," and will take their time with the title's development.

As per the game's official blog, he said:

"It’s still early and we want to ensure that the game is created with the utmost care and attention to detail, therefore, while we’re excited to share the news with you, we want to ask you for patience as it will be a while until we start talking about this project in detail."

He continued:

"The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD PROJEKT RED. It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and updating the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it is just as big, if not bigger."

Adam Badowski also reflected on the collaboration they are doing with another Polish studio, Fool's Theory, which is mostly comprised of veteran developers of The Witcher series.

He stated:

"Collaborating with Fool’s Theory on the project is just as exciting, as some of the people there have been previously involved in The Witcher games. They know the source material well, they know how much gamers have been looking forward to seeing the remake happen, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games."

He promised that the title would be "worth the wait" and concluded:

"Although it will take some time before we’re ready to share more about and from the game, I know it’ll be worth the wait"

While it is uncertain when the game will finally be showcased to players, it is assuring that CD PROJEKT RED is taking its time with the same. The team will also need extra time to transition from the in-house RED engine to the new Unreal Engine 5, which offers significantly more robust tools and features that can properly harness the capabilities of modern console hardware as well as PCs.

Earlier this month, CD PROJEKT RED gave players an outlook on the projects the studio will be working on for the foreseeable future. This included multiple Witcher entries, like a new trilogy of Witcher games and a spin-off, along with a new unnamed IP, that is in the early stages of pre-production.