CD Projekt Red Moves Project Hadar to Prototyping While The Witcher 4 Expands Its Team
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
CD Projekt Red's new IP Project Hadar has entered the prototyping phase in Unreal Engine, while The Witcher 4 dev team expands to nearly 500 staff members.
CD Projekt Red is keeping busy across multiple fronts, offering a fresh glimpse into their upcoming release pipeline during their latest earnings report. Project Hadar, the studio's entirely new intellectual property being built outside of their established franchises, has officially entered the prototyping phase. Joint CEO Michal Nowakowski shared that the team has laid down the core foundations for this mysterious universe, establishing key pillars and distinct world features. Developers are actively building multiple prototypes and testing specific mechanical elements directly inside Unreal Engine, meaning the team is finally figuring out what the game actually is behind closed doors.
While Hadar represents a blank slate for the studio, the heavy hitters are also seeing massive internal movement. The Witcher 4 development team has grown to nearly 500 staff members, adding roughly 50 new developers since October. This ramp-up aligns with CD Projekt Red's ambitious plans to release a new trilogy of Witcher games within a relatively tight six-year window. Meanwhile, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is also slowly gathering steam with a small handful of fresh hands, though that team is not expected to scale up significantly until later next year.
For players tracking these massive multi-year studio pipelines, this update is a reassuring sign that production is stabilizing after years of restructuring. CD Projekt Red is clearly trying to avoid the chaotic development cycles of the past by locking down foundational documentation and scaling teams methodically. As both Hadar and The Witcher 4 take shape across PC and current-gen consoles, the studio is positioning itself for a very busy latter half of the decade. Original reporting comes via Rock Paper Shotgun.
Tags: CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 4, Project Hadar, Cyberpunk 2, Gaming News
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun