Image: CD Projekt Red
The first game in Geralt’s Witcher trilogy is getting a Triple-A remake.
CD Projekt Red has revealed that its 2007 debut game The Witcher will be getting a full-fledged remake in Unreal Engine 5. This project is one of the five Witcher games the developer announced to be in development earlier this month, previously under the codename ‘Canis Majoris’.
The Witcher was the very first game CD Projekt Red released back in 2007, and it was successful enough to launch a trilogy of games starring the titular witcher, Geralt of Rivia. The game is being rebuilt, “from the ground up,” in Unreal Engine 5, following the retirement of the developer’s in-house REDengine. This isn’t a surprise, considering CD Projekt entered a partnership with Epic Games earlier this year to use Unreal Engine 5 in all of its upcoming titles.
A Polish studio called Fool’s Theory will be working on The Witcher Remake, with veteran developers from the Witcher saga involved as staff. CD Projekt Red will provide full creative supervision while it continues to work on the next trilogy of Witcher games, which will follow an entirely new protagonist. The developer says that it’s unable to share more information on the remake right now, but expect more details to trickle out over the next few years.
In a statement, CD Projekt Red’s head of studio Adam Badowski said:
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 remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it feels just as big, if not bigger. 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. And 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.
To say that the first Witcher game is deserving of a remake would be an understatement. Doug Cockle’s gruff performance as Geralt almost makes the game worth a revisit by itself, but it was rough around the edges upon release and it’s even rougher today. Not to mention that Geralt himself has gone through some… changes. Here’s how he looked in the first game:
While the first game still features core characters in Geralt’s cast of friends like Triss Merigold and Dandelion, it lacks other familiar faces like Yennefer and Ciri. Geralt himself begins the game with a bout of amnesia, unable to remember who he is nor what’s happened to him. Yennefer and Ciri don’t appear until the third game, which finally ropes in the entire main cast of Geralt’s saga. If you want to see more of these characters, you’ll have to wait until The Witcher Season 3 hits Netflix.