Witcher 4 tech demo shows footage running at 60 FPS with ray-tracing on base PS5

A gameplay-based tech demo for The Witcher 4 has been shown off during an Unreal Engine showcase.

The State of Unreal presentation opened with CD Projekt RED [435 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/cd-projekt/cd-projekt-red/”>CD Projekt Red developers taking the stage to show a “technological showcase set in the world of Witcher 4”, running on a PS5 with ray-tracing enabled.

While it wasn’t confirmed that what was shown was actual gameplay, it shows what’s at least potentially capable on a standard PlayStation 5 [7,785 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/playstation/ps5/”>PlayStation 5 console.

The demo showed Ciri, the protagonist of the next game, exploring a town in the land of Kovir, which CD Projekt [394 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/cd-projekt/”>CD Projekt confirmed will serve as a setting for the next game, and interacting with NPCs. The demo was used to highlight the power of Unreal Engine 5, which can render significantly more complex scenes, while costing less from a power perspective.

Unreal Engine 5 can also build far more complex sets for players to explore, as shown off via a market with detailed stalls and other objects.

Epic then showed off how the game’s animation system has been redesigned, using an example of Ciri getting on her horse. No matter which angle the player approaches the horse from, the game will adapt and produce a bespoke animation that looks natural.

“We started our partnership with Epic Games to push open-world game technology forward,” said CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michał Nowakowski [380 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/michal-nowakowski/”>Michał Nowakowski

“To show this early look at the work we’ve been doing using Unreal Engine running at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, is a significant milestone — and a testament of the great cooperation between our teams. But we’re far from finished. I look forward to seeing more advancements and inspiring technology from this partnership as development of The Witcher 4 on Unreal Engine 5 continues.”

The first trailer for The Witcher 4 was shown at The Game Awards [406 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/events/the-game-awards/”>The Game Awards in December 2024, revealing that the game will follow Ciri, last seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt [246 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/”>The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

In an interview with VGC, narrative director Phillipp Weber said he knew the decision to change the series’ protagonist would be controversial with some fans, and that the team wants to prove it was the correct choice for the game.

Weber said he understood where the negativity from some fans was coming from, as he also loved playing as Geralt in the previous games, and said that if that’s what some fans think, then that’s a valid concern that the team wants to address with future reveals.

“I think we definitely knew it could be controversial for some people because of course, in the previous three Witcher games Geralt was the protagonist and I think everyone really loved playing as Geralt,” he told VGC.

“I really loved playing as Geralt, so I think we’re aware that if some people think right now that they would still prefer to be Geralt, I do think that’s a legitimate concern, so if this is where that concern is coming from, that’s valid.

“The best thing that we can do, and I think this is really our goal, is to prove that with Ciri, we can do a lot of interesting things so we can really make it worth it because this decision to have Ciri as a protagonist wasn’t made yesterday, we started making this a very long time ago.”