CD Projekt says Witcher 4 production phase to start this year, AI will play a role in...

[midian182]

Something to look forward to: For all the great titles released last year, some people, this writer included, still argue that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains the greatest game ever made. For those who can't wait for its sequel, the good news is that CD Projekt's co-CEO has confirmed it will enter its production phase in 2024. What comes as potentially less welcome news is that the company has formed a team to see how AI can be used in its development.

After Adam Kicinski stepped down as CD Projekt's CEO at the end of 2023, leaving the position he held since 2010, chief creative officer Badowski and commercial officer Michal Nowakowski became co-CEOs.

In an interview with Reuters, Badowski said that the next Witcher game, revealed in October 2022 to be codenamed Polaris, will enter its production phase this year. The co-CEO hopes to have 400 people working on it by the summer as more company employees move from Cyberpunk 2077 duties to The Witcher 4.

It seems there are few companies on Earth, even those in North Korea, who aren't using AI in their products right now. Badowski said CD Projekt has formed a team to see how the technology can be applied to the Witcher 4, though he suggests it will be used to improve processes rather than create something players could notice, like generated assets. He also insisted it won't lead to job losses, which is hard to believe.

"We think that AI is something that can help improve certain processes in game production, but not replace people," Badowski said.

The executive also addressed the horror that was the Cyberpunk 2077 launch. The Witcher 4 will no doubt generate as much hype as the Keanu Reeves-starring blockbuster, and Badowski wants to make sure it avoids the problems Cyberpunk 2077 had when it arrived. He believes the company has learned the lessons of the past and now has better control of the production process.

"We believe that in the future we'll avoid a premiere like the one we faced with Cyberpunk 2077", Badowski said.

Speaking of Cyberpunk 2077, those eagerly looking forward to its sequel, codenamed Orion, are going to have a long wait. Badowski said the game is still in the conceptual phase, though CD Projekt expects to have around 80 people working on it by the end of the year. His co-CEO Nowakowski said there could be multiplayer elements in the game, but would not elaborate.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/101654-cd-projekt-witcher-4-production-phase-start-year.html

 

[MarcusNumb]

Well, 2 more years to wait at least, and I have to admit that I'm looking forward to this game.

 

[toooooot]

The thing I really dislike about AI writing and pictures in it current state is that there is something.
There is something weird I can feel but not able to explain.
I do not want to feel like that.
And if every aspect of a game gives me that feeling, oh well,
find someone else to play it.

 

[Atmajaya2020]

I don't think that AI can play as good a role as humans in game production..
but hopefully with a little "extra ingredients" from AI, this game will be completed faster and the results will be better and more enjoyable..

 

[Nobina]

The Witcher is a rare franchise in which every game was better than the previous one. I rank TW3 as one of the best games ever, easily, and I believe TW4 won't live up to the standards because CDPR said 3 was the last game. This means they are only making 4 to cash in on the success of the franchise, so quality won't be a priority.

 

[redgarl]

The Witcher is a rare franchise in which every game was better than the previous one. I rank TW3 as one of the best games ever, easily, and I believe TW4 won't live up to the standards because CDPR said 3 was the last game. This means they are only making 4 to cash in on the success of the franchise, so quality won't be a priority.

CDPR said 3 was the last game as GERALT the protagonist...

They never said it was the last game. You are making stuff up.

Also, they are working on a Remake of the first game that many missed.

 

[CrisisDog]

I’m not a fan of AI. But I also remember reading articles where the game developers were being pushed to work an absurd amount of hours during the final months of each game to meet release deadlines. And we got garbage in both cases which had to be fixed up afterwards. If AI can help with repetitive tasks, or god forbid, quality control, I guess it would be a good thing.

 

[Subset6]

Honestly I’m more excited for Witcher 1 remake on UE5. Would love an update on it.

 

[Nobina]

CDPR said 3 was the last game as GERALT the protagonist...

They never said it was the last game. You are making stuff up.

Also, they are working on a Remake of the first game that many missed.

If so then I apologize, I misremembered.

 

[Lazz1]

I think they will use AI for speeding up gruntwork, not really for the complete creation of art or original assets. I don't see this being a bad thing long term.

 

[poohbear]

Seems at every conference call for these publicly traded companies the executives wanna shove in AI just to push the stock price up. Its become such an absurd buzzword now but AI has been around since 2016 atleast.