Will Cyberpunk 2077 sequel use Unreal Engine?

Cyberpunk 2077 has found itself in the limelight again, all thanks to the recently announced Phantom Liberty expansion, which is releasing exclusively for current-gen consoles and PC. The latest addition aims to course-correct the mistakes of the game's launch. CD Projekt Red's highly anticipated sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 had a disastrous launch back in December 2020.

However, the game has seen major updates over the last two years, fixing certain technical issues and adding new features. Most of the issues on the technical front were attributed to the game's engine, which was the most recent iteration of CD Projekt Red's in-house RED engine.

While the RED engine is powerful and capable, it had limitations that manifested prominently during the development of Cyberpunk 2077. To streamline the development of their games and make them accessible to developers, CD Projekt Red announced in 2021 that they would transition to Unreal Engine for future projects.

That possibly also includes the future installments of their sci-fi juggernaut of a franchise, Cyberpunk 2077, alongside many The Witcher projects in the works.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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Future installments of Cyberpunk 2077 will likely be built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine

Despite numerous grievances, CD Projekt Red's RED engine is a robust and sophisticated game engine that, with the right amount of care and optimization, can deliver some truly "breathtaking" visuals. This is evident by the most recent "Ray-tracing Overdrive" update for the game on PC. However, the RED engine's latest iteration is also its most flawed and immature version.

The RED engine 4 is still in its infancy and, as a result, has multiple features that do not sit well with the new additions the team had to make to create a modern sci-fi open world. The engine was originally meant exclusively for The Witcher series, but over time, CD Projekt Red made significant changes that made it viable for various genres.

However, while trying to implement the new additions they planned for their engine, CD Projekt Red began production on Cyberpunk 2077, ultimately resulting in the game's disastrous launch. While CD Projekt Red switching over to Unreal Engine (UE5) for their future endeavors is understandable, it didn't seem like the right move.

Sure, moving to Unreal Engine eases up on development time, as CD Projekt Red will have to devote little dev-time to the actual development of the engine and can instead focus resources on strengthening gameplay and polishing the title.

However, at the same time, it's also heartbreaking to see a capable and robust game engine like CD Projekt Red's RED engine being abandoned in favor of Unreal Engine.

While Epic Games' Unreal Engine is a great tool for developers, there's a certain charm and personality with in-house proprietary engines that add a lot to the developing studio and its games, which UE5 will never be able to replicate.