CD Projekt announced today that the first game in the Witcher series is being "rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5." The remake is being worked on by Polish studio Fool's Theory, with CD Projekt Red "providing full creative supervision." Fool's Theory was chosen as several team members from the Witcher series now head up the new studio, such as CEO / Project Lead Jakub Rokosz and design director Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz, who both worked on quest design for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It's also likely CDPR are not working on the remake themselves, as they are currently working on a new entry into the series. These new entries and Fool Theory's Witcher Remake will be made using the same engine and tools.

CDPR also emphasizes that the project is in the early stages of development and that they "want to ensure that the game is created with the utmost care and attention to detail." Therefore, it will be "a while" until more details are released.

This project was teased at the beginning of the month under the name "Canis Majoris." That tease also confirmed that the remake will be a "story-driven, single-player open-world RPG."

In other Witcher news, the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 is still expected to launch Q4 2022.

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[Deleted member 194275]

Haven't played W1, but even W2 has clunky/complicated battle system that is a bit frustrating.. so if it's like that (or worse), then they should overhaul the combat/ battle system and make it good (like W3 or better). And i'll definitely take a shot at it once it's out..

Witcher 1 is way worse. Sex and nudity is what keeps you going

Serious now, the game is awesome, but it is a product of it's time. PC games on 2000's were like that, like stiff, with learning curve of it's own, not much standards between different games and with overwhelming interface. I played the PC version btw, I cant even imagine the mess it is without a mouse (this if it ever left PC to begin with).

 

[pedro702]

Well, the Classic was top, one of the best. But this totally brocken down Remake we got from VII was just Horror. Everything is missing what made me fall in Love with the FF-Franchise. A good old time, where games where worth there money.

like i said you are the minority, its well praised by public and critics alike so square enix didnt mess it up when most people like it has made it 8+/10 by public and critics on every website i found.

Witcher 1 is way worse. Sex and nudity is what keeps you going

Serious now, the game is awesome, but it is a product of it's time. PC games on 2000's were like that, like stiff, with learning curve of it's own, not much standards between different games and with overwhelming interface. I played the PC version btw, I cant even imagine the mess it is without a mouse (this if it ever left PC to begin with).

first game is pc exclusive so there was never a controller console version, so this will be the first console gamers will be able to experience the first game, witcher 2 did come out on xbox360 as a console exclusive tough.

 

[lordelan]

It's good then that I always wanted to start playing the Witcher series (own all 3 games on Steam) but never actually found the time for it. Now I can wait a little longer and don't have to bother with a 15 year old game that doesn't look too well compared to Witcher 3.

 

[Noctosphere]

I actually never managed to play the first witcher
At the very start, Geralt kept his sword above his head
I never managed to land a single strike lol

 

[wartutor]

Dont you mean GTA trilogy? Because while i dont play Final Fantasy at all, by public and critics alike the remake off ffVII is pretty well received, you may be the exception here lol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII_Remake#Reception

Yes most people liked the remake...but true fans of the original seen it for what it was...a cash grab that had pretty graphics and held your hand throughout the entire linear story. Then to top it all off they stopped the game at the end of the fucking introduction. It isnt even the game its just the 1st part. 10+ years to make that shit. Part 2 is suppost to come out soon lets see if it stays true to the open world format or if its just more preaty, money grabbing, hand holding pile of shit the 1st one was. BTW fuck what critics say about anything.

 

[gohan123]

Well, a remake is not always a remake.

1. remaster = usually a resolution increase / fps unlock. this is the worst kind.

2. classic remake = this is very vague. only some aspects are kept from the original, like the story, everything else could be changed dramatically. these are basically completely new games and could scare off the fans. like resident evil 2, ratchet and clank, ff7r.

3. Newer remakes = I don't know if these types existed back then, but these are complete remakes that stay true to the old games, but still make small quality of life adjustments. like demon souls, shadow of the colossus, crash bandicoot.

4. remaster + remake = these games use the old engine, but all the other assets are redesigned. they seem new, but feel old. like warcraft 3 reforged, I have a feeling resident evil 4 will end here.

aslong it's no 2. I'm going to check out this game, if it one of the other, no thanks I played and loved the original.

 

[ZeroFX]

Cool, just don't introduce crap or do "adjustments for the current age". Also, unreal engine? Can't handle your own engine anymore? lmao.

 

[gohan123]

Cool, just don't introduce crap or do "adjustments for the current age". Also, unreal engine? Can't handle your own engine anymore? lmao.

I think they used the neverwinter nights engine in this one.

 

[mightymuffy]

Whilst "open world" aren't the first 2 rather linear in comparison to 3?

Or are they just broken up to smaller sections, moving on from each area when progressing?

I never thought I'd like it, but after playing Witcher 3 last year, a few years after release, it's now one of my favourite games of all time.

I've heard it was very buggy on release and for years after though (still bugs and "features" present not to be fair).


Even if it is linear, I'm very interested to see how this develops, as I haven't played the first or second. Can we expect that one of the other games is Witcher 2?

Yep, Witcher 3 was a right mess for a long period of time, which was why I wasn't surprised in the slightest at the state of Cyberpunk on release (truth be told, Witcher 3 wasn't quite as bad as Cyberpunk was!)

Also yes, you can't even call the first 2 "open world" in quotations... the games feel a bit more focused though - I think if you've become as big a fan of the 3rd game as you say, then you might like a run through of the 2nd one ...probably best to play the X360 version though, warts n all! But the first game, fukk me, the gameplay stunk back on release: if The Witcher 2 was Street Fighter 2, then the first was Street Fighter 1, yeah it's that bad, and crying out for a remake!
..So I'm looking forward to seeing this one! (UE5 too: should have some nice looking rocks in it....)

 

[Katrosh]

Let's hope they don't ruin a masterpiece

 

[xdarkx]

That's... cool.

I will temper my expectation until the game is actually out, and suggest others to do the same. Reason being is CDPR games usually have rocky game launches (ie. game having a lot of bugs and whatnot).

 

[iluvfuzz]

If this goes well I wonder if they'll do the same for 2.

 

[Trojaner]

If this goes well I wonder if they'll do the same for 2.

They will, just because it will give money again. Game Industry just cares bout Milking the Shit out of Gamers anymore.

 

[LeyendaV]

Will they release it in one single, stable piece? Or will launch as a broken disaster like Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk?

 

[V800]

I also feel the remake fever is out of control. I'm glad many people enjoy them, though. Besides, I don't like how similar all these games look. On the other hand, doing a complete rehaul of the faulty mechanics present in Witcher 1 sounds promising (like a premium mod of the sorts).

 

[SylverReZ]

Will they release it in one single, stable piece? Or will launch as a broken disaster like Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk?

There's only one way to find out.

 

[scoobydude51]

I also feel the remake fever is out of control. I'm glad many people enjoy them, though. Besides, I don't like how similar all these games look. On the other hand, doing a complete rehaul of the faulty mechanics present in Witcher 1 sounds promising (like a premium mod of the sorts).

publishers know how powerful of a drug nostalgia is. that’s why they’re milking the remakes/remasters extremely hard

 

[such]

Uai they do dis?

The game is basically new. Is the game landscape so stale that they need to remake 10 year old games?

Well, it's 15 now, by the time they're done with it it'll likely be about 18, and when they actually finish and patch it to a state of painless playability it'll be a perfect celebration of the original's 20th anniversary. Solid timeline planning.

I'm half joking.

On a more serious note, Witcher 1 is a clunky game designed by people who had no idea what they were doing, but really liked rpgs of a certain period and blindly aped them. Overall they bumbled their way through development, so a good chunk of the game is staggeringly incompetent - was back then as well - for a variety of reasons not really related to the tech side, and some of it is accidentally good. This a decent remake candidate, actually, though I have my fears those good bits (alchemy is at least a very good idea kernel that should be built upon, not dismantled a la later games) won't survive.

 

[Delerious]

Honestly, I'm not too upset about this one. The original Witcher game is very janky, and doesn't always run as desired on current hardware. Plus, they're outsourcing the work to a reputable studio, so it won't cut too deep into development for other projects.

Will they release it in one single, stable piece? Or will launch as a broken disaster like Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk?

Realistically, it should be a lot more stable, since they're working off an already fully functional engine. Of course, there will be some code and plugins required to make the game itself, but other than that, they mostly just have to make the actual contents. Also, as mentioned, they are hiring Fool's Theory to work on the project, and they're pretty reputable.

 

[guisadop]

I strongly disliked the combat in the first witcher, but I read that some people really liked it! whether they change it or not, I hope it's a good game on release and doesn't require a bazillion patches to be functional