The launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was a trying time for CD Projekt Red. After years of anticipation, the RPG arrived glitchy and broken, leading to a number of post-launch patches and updates to make it more playable. It was the last major release from the studio to use REDEngine, its in-house engine, before switching to Unreal Engine 5 for The Witcher 4, but one of the company's leaders contends this is more of a coincidence.

Michał Nowakowski, the joint CEO of CD Projekt Red, appeared on the Deconstructor of Fun podcast (thanks, VGC), where he explained why the decision was made to change technology.

"A lot of people think like this, but this is a bit of a false assumption, I would say," he explains when asked about if the sci-fi blockbuster influenced the choice, "because the issue with Cyberpunk was not really REDengine itself.”

The logic internally was that CD Projekt Red makes games, and the REDEngine was really a byproduct of doing that. "The dream of the company was actually never to make technology, it was to, yes, create visually and technically cutting-edge games," he adds. "But most importantly telling the stories in the most convincing and immersive way."

The incentive to switch came about when we got that The Matrix Awakens demonstration of Unreal Engine 5. At that point, the technology wasn't quite where CD Projekt Red would like, but Nowakowski and the rest of the company's leadership could see it was going to be formidable.

"If we form a relationship with Unreal and if we work on certain things which are specifically required to make games of the size and scope and certain technicalities about it that we need for the games, it could actually work," he recalls thinking. "And that's where we came to the table with the guys from Epic. That's where we made the strategic collaboration."

Now CD Projekt Red is one of the few developers helping to forge the engine from the inside. Which makes sense, since not only is it being used for The Witcher 4, it's behind the remaster of The Witcher 3 as well.

"We're actually, I think, the only team in the world outside of Epic that deals with the inside of the 'black box' that the engine is. Nobody else is doing that except for us and them, which we do through collaborative efforts together," he comments. We'll start seeing what improvements this all provides when The Witcher 3 Remastered arrives in just over a week.

The Witcher 3 "is not a monument" says lead writer ahead of Songs of the Past, which means "adding a new expansion is not such a huge deal."

Although The Blood of Dawnwalker only launched this month, fans are already waiting to see what the former CD Projekt Red masterminds behind the vampire RPG have in store – and it looks like it'll be New Game Plus.

Now that we know The Blood of Dawnwalker will have sequels of some flavor in the future, fans have been wondering whether the current game itself will perhaps get a New Game Plus – and yes, yes it will... much like The Witcher 3 did after its own launch.

Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz confirms as much in a new stream on YouTube, casually admitting, "New Game Plus? Yes, it's coming." It's only something folks have had on their mind since The Blood of Dawnwalker's release, you know.

He then doubles down that, yes, "it's coming" – but Rebel Wolves isn't ready to share when exactly that'll be. As Tomaszkiewicz throws in, "But I won't tell you when."

It's likely to be part of some free update later down the line, of course, although there's no real way to tell when said update (if it turns out to be part of one) will drop. The Blood of Dawnwalker recently got a little patch, after all, which proves the studio is actively working on it.

What will New Game Plus entail, though? Could it axe the controversial time mechanic that the game's biggest mod reworks, giving us a bit more leeway in what we do and how we experience the RPG's story?

Maybe – I mean, Tomaszkiewicz did also just state that upcoming sequels might scrap the feature altogether, or at least change how it works. There's no knowing what New Game Plus looks like until it's here, of course, however.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a tad more freedom, personally, come New Game Plus – but I'll be happy to see any new content or difficult come to The Blood of Dawnwalker either way, whether we lose the time limit or not.

CD Projekt Red fans stay loyal: About 58% of The Blood of Dawnwalker's Steam player base also played The Witcher 3

The Blood of Dawnwalker has been largely well-received by most fans, much to the delight of the former CD Projekt Red masterminds heading the vampire RPG – but there's one controversial mechanic that's brought up time and time again: uh, literally time.

In case you're out of the loop, time is core to The Blood of Dawnwalker. You're given 30 days and 30 nights to save protagonist Coen's family and complete the main story, and everything in the world between then can cost you time slots.

How you choose to spend your time is, however, largely up to you – but the stress and sheer fear of missing out is undeniably real. So much so, in fact, that the game's biggest mod reworks the cycle altogether.

Now that we know The Blood of Dawnwalker will have sequels of some flavor, it comes as no surprise that folks are wondering whether they'll employ the same time mechanic – and, well, the answer is maybe.

Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz tells Eurogamer as much in a new interview, explaining that Rebel Wolves – the studio comprised of veterans with credits on bangers like The Witcher 3 – isn't quite sure what it'll do yet.

"We didn't decide it, to be honest," he says. "We will play with it. If we will have parts of the story, or the whole story, to which it fits, then we will use it. If we will have stories where it does not fit, we will not force it. We will play with this system and we will try to use it to boost the urgency of some events in the game. But I'm not saying that in every game we will have the same scheme or loop – it's not like this."

That's not all, though. Tomaszkiewicz drops a bit of a teaser, too: "We are also considering and researching some other crazy ideas which can make the RPG genre different to surprise people in the future."

Color me intrigued – the day and night cycle (as well as the whole 30 days and 30 nights thing) are already very unique to the genre… what more could Rebel Wolves have in store? I personally can't wait to find out.

So, there you have it – The Blood of Dawnwalker sequels (whenever they may come) might feature a similar time mechanic as their predecessor… or they might not. We'll just have to see when Rebel Wolves is ready to unveil any future projects.

CD Projekt Red fans stay loyal: About 58% of The Blood of Dawnwalker's Steam player base also played The Witcher 3

As The Blood of Dawnwalker sinks its fans into the community, I've been keeping an eye on player sentiment. Some, like me, have been transfixed by the plethora of choice available. I love how the vampire RPG's open world unfolds at your own pace despite the 30-day timer – which isn't as punishing as I thought it would be. Others have bones to pick with its design elements, from wrestling with awkward camera angles in combat to the curious lack of proper stealth.

While I find it an impressive effort from a non-triple-A studio like Rebel Wolves and am more than happy to forgive its maiden voyage a few teething problems, there is a more simple reason many players might expecting something different to what they get. Namely, I think some were expecting more than just Witcher 3 vibes in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Twinsies?

Ever since the game was first revealed in January 2025, discussions around The Blood of Dawnwalker inevitably bring CD Projekt Red into the conversation. Reddit is still awash with very similar questions today: how much like The Witcher 3 is The Blood of Dawnwalker, really, and does liking one mean you will love the other?

Well, the answer really depends. As a project created by ex-Witcher 3 developers – a tagline that, admittedly, has been done to death by myself and fellow games journalists in the leadup to the game's launch – it does share some DNA. By that, I mean both Geralt and Coen exist in medieval high-fantasy worlds, and that dialogue choices shape the story you will experience.

The game director himself is "really comfortable" with the comparisons, but having played both The Blood of Dawnwalker and The Witcher 3 to completion, let's be real. The two RPGs are mechanically and tonally alien to one another.

While playing Dawnwalker for the first time, I thought back to the closed-doors Witcher 3: Songs of the Past demo I was privileged to attend at Gamescom 2026.

Watching Geralt run barefoot through the leafy countryside town of Letten before punching a dude in the face to get his best friend's lute back, all in time to swan into a mansion wearing last night's gladrags – it's the kind of lighthearted opening fodder Coen of Laslea couldn't dream of. We never get a glimpse of a happy Coen; the game starts in a black plague fever dream throwback, and things never get better for the unlikely hero.

Even when Songs of the Past's mysterious drama starts unfolding – companion Dandelion has vanished, and it's up to his sister and Geralt to search for him – there's a warm, almost self-aware familiarity about it. There are tough decisions to be made in The Witcher, but this world is as much a campy fairytale as it is imperiled. Case in point: Geralt gets so stoned in one mission that his horse can converse with him.

That tonal balance can be seen in Geralt's new-and-improved combat capabilities coming in the DLC. Not only does he still have his trusty steel and silver swords at his back, for man and monster respectively, Geralt will have a silver hook on a chain for fancy ranged attacks. It'll be a new stand-in for the crossbow come the expansion's 2027 launch, a throwback to the source novels that gives Geralt even greater combat diversity and shows off his status as a tried-and-true battle master.

But then, there's Coen in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Anyone who comes to Rebel Wolves' RPG expecting a Witcher 3-like combat experience will be sorely disappointed. Without his witchcraft or vampire abilities, Coen is all melee, all the time. The directional blocks and dodges are another fresh challenge, requiring keen reflexes and even greater dexterity since Coen cannot simply dodge-roll around the battlefield and buttonmash to success. So why are we all comparing Dawnwalker to The Witcher 3?

Separate ways

I'd say the exact same thing even with combat put aside completely. Coen has a time constraint. Geralt does not. Coen's actions in the open world get punished by edicts, increasing pressure on the player as you fight back against vamp lord Brencis. Geralt's are not.

When I see prospective Dawnwalker players asking how lively or dense the open world of Vale Sangora is compared to Geralt's Continent, I wince. Coen's world is not the size of a literal country. It does not have the enemy or mission variety of The Witcher 3, which had a book series and two games to draw upon, and as the first game in a would-be saga, nor did I expect it to.

I feel partly responsible for the constant hat-tipping to The Witcher 3 that set The Blood of Dawnwalker up for these comparisons. It was a way into the new IP that, at the time, created an immediate touchstone for players to better understand the overall vibe and style of the game before we knew much about it.

But now that Dawnwalker is out in the wild, hear my plea: It's time to leave Geralt alone and appreciate Coen on his own merit. Comparing the first in a potential saga to a soon-to-be four-part video game series sets up unrealistic expectations for everyone. I wonder if the comparisons will hold up when The Blood of Dawnwalker closes in on its modern day timeline, or if Cyberpunk 2077 will be the new chosen one?

Check out all the upcoming RPGs for 2026 and beyond if you've had your fill of Vale Sangora.

No video game is perfect, regardless of how popular or enduring they are. The Witcher 3 is no exception, and on the back of the upcoming remaster, one lead developer makes it clear he'd revisit quite a bit of the massive RPG.

"For me, The Witcher 3 is not a monument and is not untouchable. It is still vivid in my memory, and it is still something that is not maybe a point of reference, but something that still may be improved," Marcin Blacha, lead writer on The Witcher 3 and now vice president of narration at CD Projekt Red, tells PC Gamer.

"When I'm playing The Witcher 3, I still find some places that I think maybe nowadays, I would do it differently."

I can understand this mentality. There's a lot to do in Wild Hunt, and since it's been over a decade, Blacha's now got the value of hindsight in what could've been more efficient or better.

Not only is the base game about to get a sizable lick of paint, but there's an expansion coming too, Songs of the Past. They provide a decent amount of changes and additions to the 11-year-old game between them, and Blacha found the whole process to be invigorating creatively.

"Adding a new expansion is not such a huge deal," he explains. "In fact, discovering we still have it, you know, we have this thing, and we are still able to create a story that fits not only vanilla Witcher 3 but also Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. It is still a very uplifting feeling – a time machine that brings me 10 years back, when I was younger and maybe more passionate and more enthusiastic."

To compound what he's talking about, the chain weapon Geralt uses in Songs of the Past was an idea for the base game the team couldn't figure out in time. It seems like the devs still have more to say in The Witcher 3, and more power to them for making good on those opportunities still.

And it helps that Songs of the Past will take the edge off waiting for The Witcher 4.

The Witcher 3's Songs of the Past expansion wouldn't be "possible" without the RPG's remaster, says CD Projekt Red: "The stars had to align."

During BlizzCon 2026, we got confirmation that two massive games are coming to Battle.Net: The Witcher 3 Remastered and Cyberpunk 2077. As you well know, these are CD Projekt Red releases, and they join a number of games from Bethesda and other publishers that have been added to Blizzard's platform post-Microsoft acquisition. Despite this, don't expect their respective deals to be harbingers for some grand expansion.

"We're obviously not out there trying to do the Steam or Epic Game Store thing," Andrew Guerrero, vice president of product management and global insight at Blizzard, told Polygon. "We have our audience. We have a passionate core of people that play Blizzard games and games similar to Blizzard, and if something makes sense for them, we'll get after it."

Sure enough, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 have clear overlap with the Blizzard fanbase, being large RPGs you can pour hundreds of hours into. The likes of Doom: The Dark Ages, The Outer Worlds 2 and Destiny 2 all fit, too.

The Activision merger brought a selection of games with less obvious ties, like Crash Bandicoot and Call of Duty, but you can understand the publishing mandate. Taking on projects from a whole other publisher could be seen as testing the waters for opening the storefront, but Guerrero maintains curation is key.

"It's a much more focused approach, I'd say, of 'What do we think our players would absolutely love? What are the top-tier quality experiences out there that we might be able to get some more exposure to, and does it make sense?'" he explains.

Of course, there are enormous drawbacks to even humoring becoming the kind of market Steam and the Epic Games Store offer. You have large-scale moderation, a huge increase in labor behind-the-scenes, and the uphill battle of trying to compete in a space with clear market leaders.

All of which is to say, I don't think we should expect Battle.Net to become a hive of indie development just yet. The Witcher 4 is probably a safe bet by now, however.

Blizzard's new StarCraft shooter is "not a seasonal game," says lead: "The story has a beginning, a middle, and an end"

Among the additions coming in the upcoming The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past DLC is a new kind of weapon for Geralt, a big old chain he uses to whip and lasso enemies. It's a cool, nifty piece of equipment, and something CD Projekt Red has had in its back pocket since making the original game, over a decade ago.

Two developers, Jakub Rokosz, game director on Songs of the Past, and Despoina Anetaki, senior quest designer at CDPR, discussed the subject with BBC News. "We were talking about implementing the chain even during the original The Witcher 3," Rokosz recalls.

"It was impossible to do at the time for various technological reasons and challenges," he continues. "A few things had to click together, and we were able to address those challenges and issues during the remaster, so then we were able to implement a weapon that feels just natural and very fluid."

He says it "realizes a fantasy" you may have if you've read the Witcher books, since Geralt wields a chain regularly in the novels from Andrzej Sapkowski. Further connectivity between the source material and the games is good to see, and having more combat options makes Songs of the Past even more appealing, since this is a real late-game addition.

Anetaki explained a little more about why it made sense to include the chain now. "It fits with the narrative theming of the Songs of the Past," she says. "It fits with all the new enemies that work with the chain. We were able to do crowd control with the swarmions, that swarm you and you have to keep them away from you."

She points out it's a "cool weapon" for people "who might be sick of the crossbow by now." More versatility is always welcome, and considering there are players who'll have put in hundreds of hours over the years, it's especially so here.

The Witcher 3's Songs of the Past expansion wouldn't be "possible" without the RPG's remaster, says CD Projekt Red: "The stars had to align."

I'm not done with The Blood of Dawnwalker yet, but so far, I think it's a hell of an RPG that has its own voice while still feeling a little familiar. The limitations of Rebel Wolves' first dark fantasy action RPG are obvious, but easy to accept when The Witcher 3's pedigree permeates the whole thing. It's sorely missing a stealth system, though.

The best open-world games needn't allow players to sneak around just because, but having actual stealth mechanics might be useful when you're roleplaying as a half-vampire Dawnwalker who gains all sorts of shadowy tricks at night. This makes it feel like a chunk of the game was excised during development: Walking on walls and teleporting is allowed, but it feels odd – and incomplete – to infiltrate enemy bases this way only to be thrown into a fight the moment you trigger an enemy's MMORPG-like aggression radius.

The inability to be a silent killer also creates tension between the game's (otherwise fantastic) writing, impacting the way Coen embarks upon his perilous mission to save his loved ones. While I'm counting on Rebel Wolves to smartly iterate and expand on the formula in the now-confirmed sequel, I think The Blood of Dawnwalker's biggest weakness is playing things overly safe when it comes to dispatching enemies.

Claws need laws

Some suspension of disbelief is required to accept that Coen is picking fights all over Vale Sangora without protecting his identity in order to undermine the Vrakhiri's invasion and control efforts. He makes a point early on that hitting the vampiric villains where it hurts is key to eventually saving his family. But making a ruckus too fast is problematic, as he takes a while to go from confused (albeit combat-ready) peasant to folk anti-hero. This is acknowledged right after the prologue: He's just too weak to draw more attention to himself than necessary.

Regardless, you're soon taking down entire outposts and clearing dungeons as Coen, the guy with disturbingly strange powers and foul-tasting Dawnwalker blood that even big boss Brencis couldn't stomach. There's an entire Far Cry-like zoned system in place that makes the leader's bloodthirsty captains (here called boyars) react to disruptions you create in their respective domains before triggering a confrontation with each. But while stronger warriors are sent to hunt you down and locations get more fortified – or locked off completely – as you grow stronger and grow your notoriety, the evildoers always feel too lenient.

As we've seen in other open-world games with infamy systems, there's no easy answer to the dilemma of properly reacting to players' chaotic actions in ways that both preserves the credibility of the established narrative and dynamically raises the challenge. Coen is a unique kind of menace, though. Whether day or at night, he's charging into conflict, sword out, ready for a proper melee. Even when he's walking around the city of Svartrau, he doesn't seem to mind being recognized until it's too late. I know he's no Agent 47 or Ezio Auditore, but this disconnect makes me wish The Blood of Dawnwalker had even more friction baked in.

Bat among the pigeons

On a purely mechanical and visceral level, not being able to slice some throats in silence or properly drain soldiers without alerting their entire garrison is just disappointing. The game allows Coen to hit first as a Vrakhiri with a teleport-bite attack, but this first game simply wasn't built with sneak attacks in mind. 90% of the time, some grunt will smack you before you've started to properly absorb their mate's blood.

Similarly, the instant-kill drop attack that can be learned later on is a nice combat starter and a tease of what a stealth system that borrows from open-world greats such as Ghost of Yotei could be like in this setting. But it's never expanded on. You instantly go from undetected to swarmed, and any attempt to crouch and slowly navigate a camp will also result in melees that even trap you with invisible walls at times if you try to run away. It feels shockingly archaic and rigid for an action RPG that's delightfully bold and playful in other respects, even if I actually really enjoy what the game's peculiar combat system is going for.

I get that Rebel Wolves shares a ton of DNA with CD Projekt Red still, but about half of The Blood of Dawnwalker is just screaming to behave like something other than The Witcher 3. As much as I love that game, Geralt of Rivia was a skilled monster hunter. Coen is a different breed of killer, especially when his fangs and claws come out and he's dashing and teleporting across the rooftops like Corvo in Dishonored. It may be too late to alter what this new fantasy RPG is and isn't, but looking at the bright future ahead, I'm hoping for a more varied and sneaky vampire simulation come the sequel.

The Blood of Dawnwalker patch notes are among the funniest I've read, axing the "one red pipe asset we weren't supposed to use" and silencing dead NPCs who could still talk.

A couple of weeks ago, Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 provided us with our first look at both The Witcher 3 Remastered and CD Projekt Red's brand-new expansion for the RPG, Songs of the Past – an expansion that wouldn't have happened without the remaster.

Or, at least, that's what CD Projekt Red says in a recent interview with BBC News over on YouTube.

As Jakub Rokosz, game director behind both The Witcher 3 and now Songs of the Past, recalls, "the stars had to align and the conditions had to be just right to make this [the new expansion] happen." And right they became, as "the story of Dandelion's past and homeland came into our spotlight" at the perfect time.

Right when "CD Projekt Red started talking to us about about doing it," other "work on the remaster" was underway – "and those two things are intertwined in a way that the realization of Letten, Dandelion's hometown, wouldn't be possible without the remaster upgrades."

As Rokosz concludes, "there are a few things that had to click together" to make Songs of the Past "possible." And, thankfully, those things did indeed click.

Considering the sheer scope of Songs of the Past, I'm honestly not too surprised to hear Rokosz say that The Witcher 3 Remastered was practically necessary to make the expansion work.

After all, the original RPG from CD Projekt Red launched way back in 2015, leaving over a decade of technological advancements between then and now. Plus, it sounds like the remaster will be quite the overhaul, also.

We've got everything from "improved combat" to massively reworked visuals to look forward to, at times making it sound more like a remake than a remaster, honestly.

It's one heck of an undertaking for developers, undoubtedly, anyway, considering all of the other upcoming CD Projekt Red games, too. Coupled with Songs of the Past – which Rokosz makes seem huge as well – we Witcher stans have a lot to be excited about.

After 20 years voicing Geralt, The Witcher 3 star Doug Cockle says revisiting his character for Songs of the Past is "like slipping into a warm bath"

The Blood of Dawnwalker has been out for a good few days now, giving Rebel Wolves – the studio headed by CD Projekt Red veterans with credits on bangers like The Witcher 3 – time to patch its new vampire RPG up a bit with hotfixes.

And that it has, with the latest little patch to drop for The Blood of Dawnwalker being an especially, erm, amusing one. Hotfix 1.0.4, as it's officially dubbed, might not be a huge update, per se – but it brings a good few much-needed fixes… and some hilarious tweaks, too.

I mean, as per the patch notes, one of the noted highlights is literally that "torches can no longer grow uncontrollably," because of course it is.

Another one of my favorite notes also has to be the fact that, uh "dead NPCs can no longer start dialogues" now. Although I never encountered that bug myself, thinking of a deceased guard or zombie nun speaking to Coen is truly wonderful.

That's not all, either – if you remember that placeholder dev asset Rebel Wolves (likely) accidentally used in The Blood of Dawnwalker's prologue, you'll be happy to learn it's gone.

You know, the one that was bright red and labeled "DO NOT USE" over and over again? As the studio writes in its patch notes for the RPG, "We are no longer using that one red pipe asset we weren't supposed to use."

As funny as it is, I'm sure it was a bit of an immersion-breaker in the silver mines, so it's nice to see the devs have removed it. That's not to say there aren't some more "serious" fixes, though.

Rebel Wolves tackles plenty of bugs, crashes, and soft locks in 1.0.4, while also explaining that the devs have "improved the game's stability" overall with the hotfix. So, it's not all laughs, but I'm personally here for the parts that are.

As for what's next, the studio likely has a lot up its sleeve, as so far, we've just seen smaller patches. I'm keeping my own fingers crossed for a combat rework of sorts… but I know that's a hot take.

I suppose we'll just have to wait. One thing's for certain, however – whatever Rebel Wolves drops in the future won't be nearly as silly as this hotfix, with all of its seemingly random adjustments.

Read our The Blood of Dawnwalker review to find out why we think it has "clear Witcher DNA" if you're thinking about playing one of this year's biggest new games yourself.

Changes are coming in The Witcher 3 remaster and Songs of the Past, and your trusty steed, Roach, is among the areas where you might notice some alterations. The mighty horse definitely has a distinct personality in the original game, and aspects of that have been upgraded for this update and the Songs of the Past DLC - but you can turn that all off if you prefer.

In an interview with Fall Damage, Karolina Kuzia, the design director at Fool's Theory, the studio that helped make Songs of the Past, addressed whether Roach's bugs had been fixed. "When it comes to Roach and her shenanigans, why take something that is light?" she asks.

She then passes the question to her colleague, Miles Tost, the level design lead at CD Projekt Red, who elaborates. "I don't know of any Roach bugs, I think she's perfect," he says. "Having said that, one cool thing about the remaster update is that we have updates to Roach's movement behavior, so on that count, that may be disappointing to you."

Yes, that is a little disconcerting, because Roach is truly a singular equestrian companion, even if she has a tendency to get in doorways you need to get through and other impossible places. She's a mess, but she's our mess, and we've grown to love and accept her in all her multitudes.

CD Projekt Red anticipated this by adding a toggle for the older and newer behavioral patterns. "You can turn that off," Tost adds. "If you prefer legacy Roach, the way you have grown to know her, be my guest."

Be your guest I shall be, Mr. Tost. I do enjoy keeping some aspects like these in remasters, because they become indelible to my nostalgia. Roach reminds you you're in a big, goofy fantasy game, and in a world like Geralt's you need that sometimes.

After 20 years voicing Geralt, The Witcher 3 star Doug Cockle says revisiting his character for Songs of the Past is "like slipping into a warm bath"

The Blood of Dawnwalker released last week to sky-high expectations, and largely delivered. The open-world dark fantasy RPG, directed by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz of The Witcher 3 fame, launched to "mostly positive" Steam reviews and, despite a few outliers including our own 3/5 star review, largely glowing impressions from critics as well. Crucially, it seems CD Projekt Red fans are turning out in droves for Rebel Wolves' debut title, with one analyst reporting that a majority of The Blood of Dawnwalker's Steam player base previously played The Witcher 3, an unexpectedly huge crossover.

As reported by Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott, the "premium" game whose player base most crosses over with The Blood of Dawnwalker's is the Witcher 3. That's not a surprise considering Tomaszkiewicz's involvement, but what is surprising to me is just how many Witcher 3 players are turning out for Rebel Wolves so quickly after launch. According to Elliott, 58% of Blood of Dawnwalker players on Steam are The Witcher 3 players, proving CDPR fans stay loyal to individual developers even when those developers have moved on from CDPR itself.

Personally, I'm among the class of RPG enjoyers who've tried countless times in earnest to get into The Witcher 3 but couldn't for some unknown reason. Meanwhile, I'm only a few hours into The Blood of Dawnwalker and so far it's everything I was hoping for and more. Its world, lore, and characters are as richly developed as I was expecting from a team of CDPR vets, but the thing I'm surprised by the most is the time-as-a-resource mechanic and how essential it feels to the whole experience. I always liked the idea on paper but felt hesitant about being bound by it in the main mission, but it never feels cumbersome and adds a sense of urgency that makes the world feel more alive and reactive.

Even in the short time I've played both games, it's easy to see The Witcher 3's influence everywhere in The Blood of Dawnwalker, from its grimdark setting and branching narrative to its fast, fluid swordplay and deep RPG systems. Dawnwalker isn't seeing the universal acclaim of The Witcher 3, but there's a chance its standing among RPG fandom improves as players have more time to dig into its world, not to mention the "saga" of sequels Rebel Wolves is planning.

If you're just starting out, here are the best Prologue quests to do before Mass in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Although The Blood of Dawnwalker was only just released late Wednesday this week, it's already spurred mods (because of course it has) – one of which controversially alters what's arguably the vampire RPG's core mechanic.

In case you're not yet familiar with the game, The Blood of Dawnwalker features a pretty unforgiving time mechanic. You get 30 days and 30 nights, essentially, to wrap up all of the questing and exploration you'd like to do – and, for many folks, that's simply not enough.

So, how did players respond to the time lock? Well, by simply modding it away… with "Better Story Timer," as it's so aptly dubbed over on Nexus Mods, to be more specific.

The Blood of Dawnwalker mod allows you a whopping 90 days instead of the base 30 to do what you'd like with, makes it so that perks have no time cost, and increases the number of time segments in a day or night from eight to 32.

That's quite a lot, seeing as it basically flips the RPG's restrictive mechanic on its head – a restrictive mechanic that's meant to make your choices feel more meaningful, and adds a healthy layer of "what do I do" to the game.

Due to all this, it's not proving popular with everyone. Sure, it's already racked up a good 20,000 downloads and then some, but folks online are discouraging players from using it, saying it takes away The Blood of Dawnwalker's essence.

Over on X, one fan says it's a "bit strange to do… considering that it completely defeats the whole purpose of the game's design." A commenter adds, "People are too scared to make hard decisions."

A separate thread sees someone sharing in on the sentiment, writing, "People often complain about modern games being handholdy or too easy, and this is exactly why. The modern 'gamer' doesn't want to engage with the slightest bit of friction or discomfort."

Another post echoes this, too, with its author stating, "I can see why people want it, but doesn't this defeat the whole point of the time system?" Not everyone agrees entirely, though.

Over on Reddit, some people argue that Rebel Wolves, the studio behind the RPG (and the studio headed by CD Projekt Red veterans with credits on bangers like The Witcher 3), should officially implement some sort of choice in the game: "I think the obvious and easily implementable happy medium would be to have people play the game as RW intended in their first run, then have skills unlocked during that run carry over to the next in NG+."

They add, "That would sate both those dissatisfied with the nominal sense of progression and the completionist-brained of us."

That makes sense to me – playing it as intended the first time around and then having more freedom? Not a bad idea at all. Will Rebel Wolves do it? Who knows… but I know I'll be keeping my own fingers crossed.

I've only been playing a couple of days now, but the FOMO has been so, so real.

Read our The Blood of Dawnwalker review to see why the "time system for quests creates odd pacing," if you're thinking about playing one of this year's biggest new games yourself.

The Blood of Dawnwalker finally launched this week to "Mostly Positive" reviews on Steam as well as from critics and players, but as you should come to expect in the year 2026, there also seem to be some fairly substantial performance and optimization struggles bogging the whole thing down.

Rebel Wolves' debut title has been on my watchlist since its initial announcement, and it sounds like the wait has been worth it for most players, but I've been desperately trying to hold off on starting it until the inevitable array of bugs and performance problems have been patched out (GR's Austin Wood has a great writeup on that philosophy) – or my patience runs out, whichever comes first. The good news is Rebel Wolves is moving at a quick pace as it takes in feedback about the game's optimization, with the first post-launch hotfix having officially arrived on all platforms.

Patch 1.0.2, as it's named on Steam, is just a tiny little patch, but it's a good sign that Rebel Wolves got it out so quickly. After all, the game just launched yesterday, so the fact that we're already seeing performance patches is encouraging. Anyway, onto the changes:

The hotfix includes fixes for three specific gameplay bugs. Rebel Wolves says in the patched version, "Coen can talk to Farkas now even after killing all NPCs around him," "Lunka no longer gets lost when leading Coen in the tutorial," and "Uriashi blacksmith learned how to craft a certain holy sword." I just love the thought of the tutorial guide getting lost and turning back toward you with a shrug.

A PC-only fix makes "adjustments to controller dead zone and input issues while sprinting (PC Only)," and uh, that's it. That's the patch. Like I said, it ain't much, but Rebel Wolves promises there's more to come, even acknowledging certain issues like stuttering (it advises you launch the game in full-screen for now), game crashes (make sure your BIOS is up to date), and the conspicuous absence of button mapping options for PS5 controllers.

"We will continue to make improvements so that you can enjoy The Blood of Dawnwalker more comfortably," the dev says. "Thank you for your support and patience."

You know what, I think I've waited long enough. Is it 5PM yet?

Time to read up on our guide on what to do first in The Blood of Dawnwalker after the prologue

The Blood of Dawnwalker launched just yesterday, rising the ranks of Steam with its "Mostly Positive" reviews – but the big new vampire RPG headed by CD Projekt Red veterans hasn't arrived without its fair share of amusing chaos.

Sure, there are the PC optimization issues which Rebel Wolves is currently addressing – but those are hardly as intriguing as, say, a fat red "DO NOT USE" sign where an asset should be. Right?

Well, folks seem to think so over on Reddit, where some eagle-eyed fans apparently caught wind of a leftover developer asset in the game's prologue. As the thread so eloquently asks, screenshot of said asset attached, "Lol, what the hell is this?"

So, what does it look like? Well, it's bright red and sits in the silver mines where logs and rocks should be… and reads, "D O NOT USE THIS ASSET!" Not once, not twice, y'all – it's covered in the exclamation, making this all the more hilarious.

"Looks like someone used the asset they weren't supposed to," muses the original poster. Fellow players find the situation just as amusing, with one commenting, "Obviously an asset that you should NOT use."

Others jest that Rebel Wolves will be "busy this week" remedying such hiccups, while some actually beg the devs to not remove it: "Please don't fix this."

Plenty simply state that they "love" mistakes like the forgotten placeholder asset, too – and I'd have to agree. It's a silly yet understandable mix-up, and aside from breaking the immersion a bit, it's harmless overall. Plus, it's funny as heck… and I'm always down to laugh.

How will Rebel Wolves respond, though? Well, the devs haven't said anything about the leftover asset since it was flagged over on Reddit – yet, anyway. I'm thinking they'll probably (sadly) patch it out quite soon, but I suppose only time will tell.

Read our The Blood of Dawnwalker review to find out why we think it has "clear Witcher DNA" if you're thinking about playing one of this year's biggest new games yourself.

The Blood of Dawnwalker only released last night, but the new vampire RPG headed by CD Projekt Red veterans is seeing a mixed bag of feedback from fans – and it all seems to boil down to the game's performance on PC.

Stop me if you've heard this before, but a big new game that's performing relatively well on consoles is, erm, not exactly performing as well on PC – you know, poor optimization and all that.

That's precisely the fate that The Blood of Dawnwalker is currently suffering, having initially launched to "Mixed" reviews on Steam (which have now risen to "Mostly Positive" overall) thanks to hardware-related problems.

You can read through the feedback yourself to get a taste of fans' thoughts, with many saying that, while they're "really digging the vibe" of the game, "the optimization needs some work." Folks also report that The Blood of Dawnwalker "runs poorly" despite their PC meeting the recommended requirements outlined on Steam.

The discussion has spread further online, too, with one thread over on Reddit simply declaring the "optimization is way beyond trash."

There are plenty more where that came from as well, with another post pointing out that most of the negative reviews on Steam "are about performance" and more sharing their disappointment in the game's lack of HDR support.

Rebel Wolves, the studio behind the RPG with talent from The Witcher 3, is aware of the community's complaints, however… and, while it works on a more concrete update, it offers some quick solutions.

Over on Twitter, the team outlines some of the "known issues" flagged in reviews and the like before giving some "fixes and workarounds," because, thankfully, there are some measures we can take as players ourselves to improve performance on PC.

For example, if the game is stuttering for you, "please try launching the game in Full Screen" mode instead of windowed or borderless – a fix that I can safely say worked for me, at least.

Rebel Wolves has others, too, like updating your BIOS to avoid crashes – and, as for the issues we can't resolve on our end, the developers say, "we're already working on it."

So, keep an eye out for patches over the next few days… perhaps they'll remedy the game feeling like it has a "AAA price tag without AAA performance," as a commenter writes.

Read our The Blood of Dawnwalker review to find out why we think it has "clear Witcher DNA" if you're thinking about playing one of this year's biggest new games yourself.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is finally here, and in just 11 hours or so, it's managed to rack up nearly 2,000 Steam reviews and a "Mostly Positive" rating.

It only launched yesterday evening (or night, if you're overseas like me), but a good few of us stayed up to see what Rebel Wolves, the studio headed by CD Projekt Red veterans, had in store with its exciting vampire RPG – and the verdict is that it's pretty good.

Unsurprisingly, the official Steam page shows countless reviews referencing The Witcher 3 and The Blood of Dawnwalker's unmistakable Witcher-y vibes… which is a great thing, actually.

As one review reads, "This is the most Witcher-not-Witcher game I've ever played. In other words, peak." The Witcher, peak? Indeed. Another adds, "Highly recommend it, especially if you are looking for an RPG that captures what made both The Witcher and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines so special."

Now that's a blend I can get behind myself, and it's clear that lots of people agree. Not everyone is 100% impressed, however.

Some folks are actually not enjoying The Blood of Dawnwalker, as per its "Mostly Positive" rating – the key word here being "mostly," of course.

"Tried to like this game," as one disappointed reviewer writes. "The music and setting are fantastic. Unfortunately the actual gameplay lets it down." Others echo this sentiment, while more point out that optimization is poor and they're facing performance issues and buggy behavior as a result.

"Really digging the vibe," one such review admits. "Story is interesting. Characters are interesting.. Sadly the optimization needs some work" Another says, "Given I meet the recommended requirements, this game runs poorly."

All in all, though, again, most of the feedback is quite positive – it seems that Rebel Wolves will just have a few wrinkles to iron out post-release, which isn't exactly unheard of nowadays.

I, for one, am genuinely enjoying the new RPG – and, thankfully, I've not run into any issues on PC myself just yet. Fingers crossed I (and you, should you play) don't.

Thinking about playing one of this year's biggest new games yourself? Read through our The Blood of Dawnwalker review to find out why we think it has "clear Witcher DNA."

If you're stressed about AI slop creeping its way into The Witcher 4, fear not, CD Projekt Red says it's still using humans as its primary means of developing games, even if robots are seemingly replacing people at an alarming rate everywhere else.

During CDPR's latest earnings call, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski was asked to explain the company's current approach to AI in game development, and he toed the line in a similar way to most executives from major studios. Essentially, he acknowledged the tech's usefulness in certain areas of development but rejected straight-up AI-generated games, which isn't a particularly hot take but is noteworthy coming from the co-head of a studio behind some of the most anticipated games on the horizon.

"AI is definitely becoming a thing in the games development as well. We are still predominantly using people and this is our plan, to make games where we're not walking away from that," says Nowakowski. "AI, if anything, is a tool like many others that's helping in places that can maybe become more helpful in the future but we're not planning to rely on AI making complete games."

Well, that's certainly a relief. Here I was worrying a piece of obscure AI-generated concept art would find its way into The Witcher 4; now I have to deal with the idea of completely AI-generated games, but thankfully Nowakowski made it clear CDPR draws an ethical line on atrocities like that. What other developers do with their games, however, is up to them.

"To be honest, especially with very complex games like ours, I don't even think this is the right or ethical path to follow, so whether this is true for the whole industry, I'm not the person to make those statements. I think everybody has to make those judgments on their own."

Ultimately, Nowakowski's current philosophy on AI in game development mirrors the most common sentiments expressed by video game executives across the board: it's largely fine if used to streamline processes as long as it doesn't make it into the final product. There's no telling whether that approach will change as the technology evolves, but for now we can rest easy knowing AI-generated Geralt only exists in our nightmares.

"It creates lesser games": Indie game studios are supposed to love generative AI, so why do the 25 devs I spoke to avoid it?

CD Projekt Red hasn't forgotten about its enigmatic new IP Hadar amid all the clamoring over The Witcher 4. The developer confirms during its 2026 earnings conference on September 2 that the covert project originally revealed in 2022 is comfortably in pre-production.

"Hadar is still in the concept phase," CD Projekt Red vice president of investor relations Karolina Gnaś tells investors. This is basically a repeat of what we heard during another CD Projekt Red earnings conference earlier this year in March, when joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said devs had "established the foundations of this entirely new IP," and they were ready to start prototyping.

Gnaś now shares that the Hadar team includes "over 30 people," and CD Projekt Red hopes "to hire more, up to 50 developers by the end of this year." In comparison, The Witcher 4 has almost 500 people carefully tending its fire ahead of its targeted 2028 release date.

So it sounds like Hadar development is gliding cleanly along, since CD Projekt Red is still planning on expanding its team after posting job ads this summer looking for help with "an emotional, open-world experience."

But Hadar is certainly not CD Projekt Red's priority right now – not with the big shadow of The Witcher 4 gulping up everything.

"Right now," Gnaś continues to say about Hadar, "the team is mostly focused on testing different approaches, ideas, and, you know, prototyping some gameplay element, and this is it."

I imagine Hadar will release much later than The Witcher 4, surpassing six years since its reveal, especially as CD Projekt Red tends to favor extended release cycles. I mean, it's launching The Witcher 3 DLC over 10 years after the base game came out. Patience is necessary here.

The Witcher 4 devs aren't announcing every milestone because they're "very technical," but they're focused on "the actual making of the game till its release date."

The Witcher 4 is in production – or, more specifically, "full-scale production," as developer CD Projekt Red put it back in 2024. The studio has offered the public only a few small, tantalizing glimpses at the upcoming RPG, but it's passing new internal development milestones all the time. Those kinds of things are just too technical to announce to the public.

With The Witcher 4 officially targeting a 2028 release, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski was asked about where the team is at in regard to key development milestones as part of a recent investor Q&A. "As we have stated quite a few times before, we're in the full production stage of The Witcher 4, which roughly means – in very broad strokes – that we know what kind of game we're making," Nowakowski says.

"Then it's filling the game with content and so on," he continues. "We're not going into specific details. There's a lot of milestones we have internally. There's a pickup of specific batches, pickup of specific milestones. So we're not announcing all of them because a lot of them are very technical, very internal, and actually wouldn't really mean a lot to the external audience."

For those of us who don't work within the halls of CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 4 has appeared in the form of an extended cinematic trailer, an open-world tech demo, and various statements from executives and developers just like this. The devs themselves would seemingly prefer to keep their heads down and stick to actually building the game.

"This is what is happening right now: the actual making of the game till its release date," Nowakowski says. "Every milestone is a moment for us to look at it and ponder where we are, how well we are progressing with the development. Is anything hindering us? Is there any iteration that is required? And so on."

CD Projekt has set a high bar for itself with one of the best RPGs ever made.

Last week, Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 provided us with our first look at both The Witcher 3 Remastered and CD Projekt Red's new expansion for the RPG, Songs of the Past.

The expansion marks the return of Geralt's voice actor, Doug Cockle, who is taking on the role of the game's silver-haired protagonist once more… a role he's now been familiar with for over 20 years, since the original Witcher game.

How does Cockle feel stepping back into Geralt's boots for Songs of the Past, though? Well, he tells GamesRadar+ at Gamescom 2026.

"It's always a thrill to step back into Geralt's shoes," Cockle admits. "He is a character I know very, very well, so it's always a pleasure to revisit him, and it has been for Songs of the Past as well."

It's comforting, too, as per the actor's words – sort of like… taking a hot bath at the end of a tough day, apparently? "I always describe it as like slipping into a warm bath," as Cockle puts it. "It's just very comfortable, very easy."

Acting is "still work," however, as he goes on to say – "but it's work that is very comfortable for me to to move back into, and it's always a pleasure." That makes sense.
After all, "I've been voicing Geralt since 2006, I think it is," Cockle recalls, "so over 20 years now, and as long as CDPR keeps asking me to come back…" he will. Yes, even if he's "like 80 years old," he'd still be willing to voice the beloved witcher.

John Schwab, voice of Dandelion, largely feels the same. He tells GamesRadar+ that he "got more excitement stepping into the booth because I was returning to the character."

So The Witcher RPG series is one its actors are not only comfy with at this point (and then some), but also one that they genuinely enjoy being a part of. As a fan myself, as much is made obvious by their observable talent.

Nobody was more surprised by The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past than Geralt and Dandelion's actors: "They announced the expansion pack before we knew what we were doing."

The Witcher 3 Remastered launches later this month as a free update for all existing owners of the RPG. It's a meaty update with a load of improvements, including freshly revamped combat. CD Projekt Red might even have been forgiven for treating it as an all-new game and charging existing Witcher 3 owners for the privilege of paying for it. But joint CEO Michał Nowakowski says that possibility was never even on the table.

"I don't think it was ever a thought we even had," Nowakowski tells The Game Business. "It was never a question we asked ourselves. The way we thought about it is like 'it's an improvement.'" CD Projekt has made a habit of offering massive, free updates for its previous games, notably including The Witcher 1 and Cyberpunk 2077.

Of course, the remaster is being subsidized in other ways: partly through a price hike for new buyers, and partly through sales of the upcoming Songs of the Past DLC. Nowakowski doesn't address the price increase, but he does say the expansion was always part of the calculation.

"We never thought about this way," Nowakowski says of charging for the remaster. "The commercial bit of it is the expansion, obviously. We really felt this is the CDPR way, to gift it to the players who already own it. Of course, if you haven't, then you will have to purchase the game from scratch. But then we tried to sweeten the deal for you by adding two expansions into the whole package. It was just never a question we asked ourselves, to be honest."

The remaster itself exists because of the work CD Projekt Red was doing with Fool's Theory on Songs of the Past, according to Nowakowski. "We started chatting, like 'why don't we make the game more modern? Everything feels like it was developed like 10 years ago.' That was really the beginning of the conversation," he explains.

"'What could we do to improve it?' It started with small things like 'maybe let's fix this,' 'maybe let's fix that,' and then it turned into this larger project," he says. "We suddenly realized we actually have a remaster on our hands."

Here are all the upcoming CD Projekt Red games you need to know about.

The review embargo for former vampire ARPG The Blood of Dawnwalker has shriveled up, and in its place has arrived a respectable gush of primarily positive ratings. The game's creative director and former CD Projekt Red lead Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz can finally relax.

He writes on Twitter, "Waiting for the reviews to come in has been nerve wrecking to say the least, but they're finally (mostly) here!" The Blood of Dawnwalker reviews began marching out on August 31, ahead of the game's September 3 launch. "Great relief, can't wait to see you all play the game and to hear your thoughts!"

GamesRadar+ gave the open-world bleak fantasy game a cautious three-star rating in our The Blood of Dawnwalker review, in which our games editor Oscar Taylor-Kent writes, "For an RPG that keeps telling me that it matters I've been cursed to be a vampire, and constantly has a clock hanging over my every move, The Blood of Dawnwalker feels too frictionless and forgiving once you get used to its almost theme park-like static nature."

The Blood of Dawnwalker currently sits at an honorable 83 score on Metacritic, placing it just slightly behind The Witcher (86 score) and about 10 feet away from another one of Tomaszkiewicz's projects, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (92 score). Tomaszkiewicz was a lead quest designer on The Witcher 3, plus he directed Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales and co-directed fan-favorite Gwent: The Witcher Card Game.

So it's understandable why our GamesRadar+ review of The Blood of Dawnwalker also notes that "much of The Blood of Dawnwalker feels like The Witcher 3 to control"; developer Rebel Wolves was founded by The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, too. So the two games' histories are as fused together as bat wings, and Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz seems rightfully glad about it.

The creative director continues to say on Twitter, "It's a privilege to work with such a talented Team."

"Every shipped game is a small miracle," Tomaszkiewicz adds in another Twitter post. And as long as that miracle isn't topped with garlic or holy water, The Blood of Dawnwalker should be able to take its solid reviews and make the most of it.

Blood of Dawnwalker is getting a 60fps mode at launch after backlash pushed Rebel Wolves to reshuffle plans: "It was clear how much this mattered to many of you."

The video game industry is equal parts art and business, and convincing the business people in the industry to actually fund the artists is a never-ending struggle. (Just look at the furloughed devs behind the recently released Star Wars: Zero Company.) But CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michał Nowakowski knows that some games – like The Witcher 4 and GTA 6 – can't be made by pinching pennies.

"We are cost-conscious," Nowakowski tells The Game Business. "It's not unimportant. We're a business in the end, so I would [be lying] if I said it doesn't matter how much the game costs. But the first thing is whether the quality we're meeting is there, period. Whether we're meeting the expectations of what the fans are expecting from the next installment of The Witcher. This is the dominant thing we look at."

The Witcher 4 certainly doesn't have an unlimited budget, and Nowakowski alludes to certain financial "boundaries" guiding the game's development. But he says cost is not the "number one position" in determining the production plan.

"But I definitely wouldn’t say this is a cost-driven development," he continues. "If you want to have a cost-driven development – and that’s proper business thinking for a lot of games – you cannot make a game like The Witcher 4. I doubt if the development of GTA 6 was a cost-driven development. In fact, I'm 100% sure it wasn't. I think the philosophy might be very similar in many ways."

CD Projekt Red has a lot to prove with its next big RPG. Even as Cyberpunk 2077's reputation has turned around thanks to a nonstop barrage of updates and improvements, the shadow of its very bad launch still lingers. But even Cyberpunk's untimely release was more of a result of dev burnout than financial pressure.

"The decision to launch was for sure wrong, period," Nowakowski admits. "There’s no denying it. But there's no easy answer, like some magical 'investors' or stuff like that. I read a lot of that on the internet, [that investors were] telling us 'you have to release now or else.' That was not the situation. It was much more complicated – much more psychological, I would even say."

The Witcher 4 probably isn't coming to PS5 with a physical disc, CD Projekt Red boss says, but fans will still get something to "open up and enjoy."

Despite releasing after Sony's physical game deadline, CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 4 will have a game box with something on PS5, even if it doesn't have a disc.

I'm sure we all know the story by now: Sony announced it would end physical disc production for PlayStation consoles in 2028, and everyone is upset and calling Sony out for its anti-consumer, anti-preservation moves. Meanwhile, Sony wants to remind people they don't own their games, with its lawyers offering the frankly ridiculous argument that no one thinks they own a digital game, because only one person could ever have it. While some devs – like Hideo Kojima – have publicly expressed concern, there's been word that many publishers are quietly unhappy with the decision.

This was then followed by the news that The Witcher 4 will release in 2028 if all goes to plan, and many put two and two together and concluded that this would put the massive RPG in the digital-only realm on PlayStation.

Speaking to The Game Business, CD Projekt Red joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski explains that the decision is out of its hands: "We know what PlayStation has announced. And we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes [we won't have a disc]."

However, even if The Witcher 4 does not have a disc, Nowakowski pledges there will be something for physical-game fans. "We're big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things," he explains, "So, whatever is the case, we're going to be for sure having a box. We're going to have a box that's going to have some feelies in it. Something you're going to be wanting to open up and enjoy. But we have no influence actually on what's the case here."

CD Projekt Red is also one of the few third-party publishers that released a Nintendo Switch 2 game on an actual cartridge rather than a Game-Key Card, with Cyberpunk 2077 being the only launch game outside of Nintendo's own to be complete on the cart. And while it's currently digital-only, the studio has confirmed details of The Witcher 3 Remastered's Switch 2 physical edition are coming "when the time is right."

The Witcher 4 narrative lead also wanted Geralt as the protagonist at first, but he "will always have an important role"

Last week's Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 showcase saw the reveal of The Witcher 3 Remastered, a reworked take on CD Projekt Red's original 2015 RPG – and excited fans don't need to worry about losing their decade-old progress, apparently.

Developers reveal as much in a new post over on X, explaining that all of our saves from The Witcher 3 will, in fact, carry over to the remaster coming later this month.

"We've seen your questions about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered," it reads. "Good news: your current saves will work with the upgrade, so you can get back on the Path right where you left off."

Good news indeed, especially for those of us with hundreds of hours clocked in-game.

That's not all, either. Apparently, all of our unlocked achievements (or trophies, for all you PlayStation 5 enjoyers) will still be unlocked in The Witcher 3 Remastered – no need to spend ages grinding Gwent cards and the like again.

As CD Projekt Red says, "Your unlocked achievements and trophies will carry over too!" I'm thrilled, personally, and I'm evidently not alone, with folks commenting that this is "great to hear."

Some people, however, do wish they could redo it all – because of course they do. As various other replies highlight, a lot of fans want to "100%" The Witcher 3 once more… which makes sense, I suppose, when you consider just how good the original RPG is.

As grueling a task completing everything again might be, I can see why players would want to. Heck, I have nearly 1,000 hours in the game on PC alone myself.

Regarding what The Witcher 3 Remastered brings to the table that we've not yet seen, there's everything from "improved combat" to overhauled visuals to look forward to.

There's also CD Projekt Red's new DLC for the RPG, Songs of the Past, and, of course, The Witcher 4, to anticipate. It's a better time than ever to be a fan of the Polish studio's lineup of games, I'd say – I know I certainly am, and I can't wait for it all to release.

After avoiding game-key cards with Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 3 Remastered's Switch 2 physical edition details will come "when the time is right"

Multiple game developers reported having equipment stolen from Gamescom 2026 booths or stations. Mimic developer Ryan Laley said on Friday that "all our laptops have been stolen," ending his team's event presence early. Amidst the wave of support his message sparked, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red reached out to hopefully help replace the lost hardware.

"We are very sorry this happened to you," a reply from the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account reads. "We hope you know you're not on your own with this. And while it won't help right this second, we'll check the Arasaka hardware archives and see if we can send a few things your way. No choom should have to start from zero."

"Wow thank you so much!" Laley replied.

The official account for Where Winds Meet, a wuxia action RPG from Everstone Studios and Netease Games, also offered support: "We're so sorry this happened to you. We hope you know you're not on your own. Wanderers are here to help. We'll stop by your booth tomorrow with what we can and do our part to help get you back in the game."

At least three teams have reported stolen Gamescom equipment this year. One impacted team, Ukiyo Studios, said on Sunday, "We had an Xbox controller, drinks and food stolen from our booth today. The drinks and food were stolen overnight, and the controller was taken around 18:50. This makes it 4 years straight of things being stolen. This is the cost of doing business in Gamescom."

In a post sharing Laley's video message, Ukiyo Studios added, "Two years ago we had a PC stolen from our Gamescom booth, and when we tried filing a police report, a person from Gamescom blocked us from doing so, saying 'it makes Gamescom and the city of Cologne look bad.'"

Gamescom organizers have now addressed the latest robberies. In an August 29 statement, the event's official account said, "We are aware of stolen hardware and take these reports very seriously and understand the frustration of affected exhibitors."

According to Gamescom itself, "uniformed guards provide general security across the venue. Individual stand security can be booked separately, and exhibitors are advised to insure equipment against theft."

Many people read this as passing the buck. This response quickly prompted a community note adding context. This note points out that "multiple exhibitors reported laptops stolen overnight from restricted business and indie area booths despite purported 24/7 general security."

Laley said "police reports have been filed," and Gamescom affirms "all cases have been reported to us and to the police, and investigations are already underway."

Everything announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026.

As part of CD Projekt Red's Gamescom 2026 offerings, we got a look at the upcoming The Witcher 3 Remastered, and especially the port for the Switch 2. After giving us plenty of insight on how the RPG will run on Nintendo's system, we got a little update on that coveted physical release - though it's not very exciting, I'm afraid.

CD Projekt tucked the little titbit into the back half of a dedicated presentation during the third day of the event. "The news will come when the time is right," the panel says, in response to a question about getting the game in tangible form.

Told you it wasn't very exciting. But such is the process of making physical games. They're collector's items now, and not entirely intended for mass production, and the company ducked out on going the game card route for Cyberpunk 2077. Most of the people who pick up The Witcher 3 Remastered on the latest Nintendo platform will be doing so digitally anyway, since this is how audiences have shifted.

I'm sure there are plenty of people internally at CD Projekt Red who advocate for owning games on discs and cartridges, but this is a game that's been out for over a decade now. Putting it on physical media on yet another platform just won't be top of the to-do list.

It's good to hear the possibility wasn't shot down - I would expect we'll hear something within a relatively short amount of time of Geralt of Rivia making his way onto the hybrid console. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered comes out on Switch September 29, which would make Christmas a sound window to get some cases and carts into stores.

Despite the RPG's age, this is just one of several ways CD Projekt Red is continuing to support it. There's brand new DLC coming next year, Songs of the Past, and that'll help link this installment up to The Witcher 4. Geralt's got plenty of work ahead of him, to say the least.

A month before The Witcher 3 Remastered, CD Projekt Red quietly raises the price of the Complete Edition on Steam

Days after announcing a remastered version of The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Red has gone and silently bumped the price up of the Complete Edition on Steam.

A user on Resetera noticed the increase in the UK via SteamDB's price tracker graph, and I can verify that it has also went up $10 in the US, bringing it to $49.99.

The Witcher 3 Complete Edition comes with all the DLC expansion packs released for the game and will be upgraded to the Remastered version for free next month, but it's kind of a shady move to nudge the price after the news.

The price bump would be understandable given The Witcher 3 Remastered's visual and gameplay improvements. Applying that to the old game that's been around for years seemingly to capitalize on people picking it up for the first time, however, is a lame move by CD Projekt Red.

Over on GOG, the Complete Edition is actually 50% off. CD Projekt Red no longer owns the digital platform, but it would still be in charge of deciding where these prices get slashed. Even if the intent isn't to milk Steam users specifically, the discrepancy is confusing at the very least.

The Witcher 3 is a great game that is about to get even better with the Remastered version. I'd probably recommend it in a world where it never dropped in price. But games are expensive no matter how you look at it, and CD Projekt Red has historically prided itself on caring about its players, so I hope to see this reverted before too long.

The Witcher 3 Remastered tweaks combat "to be much more smooth and precise," as CD Projekt Red wants the 2015 RPG "to stand up to today's games"

Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy overlord Naoki Hamaguchi can't believe he got to share the Gamescom stage with his hero, Geralt of Rivia – in spirit, at least, since developer CD Projekt Red used Opening Night Live 2026 to announce its unexpected The Witcher 3 refresh and expansion. And The Witcher 4 lead level designer Miles Tost feels the same way.

"The pleasure was ours," Tost writes in an August 26 Twitter reply to Hamaguchi. "Final Fantasy, especially 7 have a special place in my heart and I'm so happy I get to relive that through your and your team's hard work!"

Originally, Hamaguchi wrote on Twitter after Opening Night Live (ONL), "Sharing the final spotlight at ONL alongside The Witcher 3, one of my favorite games of all time, was a truly special moment for me.
It was a great honor to stand on the same stage as a game that has inspired me for so many years."

It's rare that you see developers as seemingly untouchable as Square Enix's Hamaguchi show that, in the cocoon of their living rooms, they're still fans who feel that knot of excitement forming each time a certain title screen comes up. It's nice!

Hamaguchi has always been generous in sharing his love for The Witcher franchise, though, spending the past few years emphasizing that The Witcher 3 is one of his major Final Fantasy 7 remake inspirations. In 2024, Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase even told fans that, while watching that year's Witcher 4 trailer at The Game Awards, "Hamaguchi was so excited when Ciri removed her hood, he almost stood up!"

So I'm especially glad for him to be at Gamescom this year, where he was also recently able to meet CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michał Nowakowski and show him some of Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. Hamaguchi says on Twitter about the experience, "It was a great honor to have Michał Nowakowski, Joint CEO of CD PROJEKT RED, stop by the Square Enix booth.

"Sharing the stage at ONL alongside The Witcher 3, one of my all-time favorite games, was already a special moment. Having Michał come by in person made it even more memorable.

"I was also very happy to tell him directly that The Witcher 3 continues to be one of the biggest inspirations for me as a game creator." Let us pray, now, for Hamaguchi's sake, that the new The Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past is just as sweet as he probably thinks it is when it launches in 2027.

Keep up with the entire Gamescom 2026 schedule.

A couple of days ago, Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 provided us with our first-ever look at both The Witcher 3 Remastered and CD Projekt Red's new expansion for the RPG, Songs of the Past – an expansion the voice actors didn't even know was happening.

Well, not at first, anyway. Geralt actor Doug Cockle and voice of Dandelion John Schwab reveal as much in a new live stream with CD Projekt Red, explaining that they had no idea why the studio wanted them back in for more lines.

In fact, Schwab wasn't even in the loop at all until after Songs of the Past was public knowledge. "They announced the expansion pack before we knew what we were doing," he admits.

"So, I was like, 'They've announced it, I haven't got called… oh well, it was fun being Dandelion – good luck to whoever does it now!"

Thankfully, Schwab did indeed return as everyone's favorite bard. On the other hand, Cockle says he did know he's be coming back to voice more Geralt… but he wasn't sure why he got the call. "I had a little bit more of a headstart on John," as the actor describes.

"I got a little heads up from someone at CDPR – they were like, 'Are you available around these times for something that might be happening?' So, that's kind of how I found out… but I didn't know exactly what it was until it was actually announced officially on social media."

That's honestly amusing and, well, a bit mind-boggling, seeing as Songs of the Past was first unveiled online in May of this year.

Even more interestingly, CD Projekt Red first conceptualized Songs of the Past "years" ago, only for Fool's Theory to step in and breathe life back into it later on down the line.
As for when it's set to release, though, Songs of the Past is coming sometime in 2027.

Excited for The Witcher 4? Be sure to browse through our roundup of all the upcoming CD Projekt Red games for even more to look forward to.

Earlier this week, Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 gave us our first look at The Witcher 3 Remastered and as CD Projekt Red's huge new DLC for the RPG, Songs of the Past – an expansion that's apparently existed in theory for quite some time now.

Fool's Theory, the studio partnering with CD Projekt Red for the expansion's development, reveals as much in an interview with Eurogamer, explaining that The Witcher 3 team had in fact conceptualized Songs of the Past "years" ago – but "had to put it aside for various reasons."

How did the original developers feel about that, though? Well, according to quest designer Philipp Weber, it wasn't easy for them to do.

"Good things take time," however – and that's precisely the case with Songs of the Past.

As he goes on to write over on X in response to Fool's Theory's words on the expansion's "age," if you will," it was still tough. "At first, we were heartbroken when our story disappeared in the vaults."

But, then, Fool's Theory swooped in and came to the rescue… breathing life back into The Witcher 3, 10 years after its last expansion, Blood and Wine.

"Imagine the wonderful surprise when years later, our good friends at Fool's Theory would take the bones of this story and developed it into the Songs of the Past," as Weber recalls.

It's a bittersweet memory, I'm sure – helping think up what might end up standing as one of the greatest Witcher 3 expansions, having to scrap it for a good while, and then seeing it come back into the limelight with the help of fellow devs at another studio.

Songs of the Past itself takes us to Letten, home of everyone's favorite bard, Dandelion, as Geralt journeys to find the whereabouts of his musically talented friend. From Belleteyn to silver chains as a weapon, the expansion will let us experience many series firsts as the snowy-haired protagonist… and I, for one, cannot wait.

Between that and The Witcher 4, I'm honestly not sure what I'm more excited about.

It's a good time to be a Witcher fan, eh? Be sure to browse through our roundup of all the upcoming CD Projekt Red games for even more to look forward to.

This week's big Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 showcase delivered a reveal no one expected from CD Projekt Red: an official remastered version of The Witcher 3.

Fit with everything from "improved combat" to stunning overhauled visuals, The Witcher 3 Remastered is one heck of a huge undertaking for the studio – but, apparently, it's got a bit of help from an unexpected source: a modder known as "HalkHogan" (brilliant, I know) over on Nexus Mods.

In case you don't recognize him by name, he's the mastermind behind The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition.

It's a mod that, well, upgrades and essentially "remasters" The Witcher 3 – but with CD Projekt Red's official remaster coming, fans understandably had concerns about the mod and how relevant it'll be (or what HalkHogan may plan to do with it).

Turns out it'll be relevant indeed… because it's being integrated into the actual game. The modder confirms as much in a new post over on the modding platform, and I am thrilled.

"It's been a while since the last news and I would like to clarify any questions and confirm that I am cooperating with CDPR on the Witcher 3 Remaster and my work will be officially available in the game on September 29th (on PC and consoles)," HalkHogan writes. "HDRP will no longer be needed."

If this is a dream, please don't pinch me. I'm getting a brand new remaster and I can scrap the one and only mod I ever used?

Much like CD Projekt Red, HalkHogan has also been hard at work to ensure everything going into the game from his end is pixel-perfect. "Almost all in-game characters, monsters, animals, vegetation, armors, and equipment for Geralt and Roach, and a large part of the environment, have been reworked," as he explains. "And I've put a lot of effort into ensuring the highest quality."

I have no doubts myself here, honestly.

I'm sure that the folks behind his mod's 725,582 downloads don't either – but I suppose we'll all find out next month, come The Witcher 3 Remastered.

The Witcher 3 Remastered tweaks combat "to be much more smooth and precise," as CD Projekt Red wants the 2015 RPG "to stand up to today's games"

The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past isn't going to make the 11-year-old base game feel brand new, because it doesn't need to. CD Projekt Red and the Songs of the Past expansion's co-developer Fool's Theory knows The Witcher 3 is the ideal RPG experience, so Songs of the Past – due in 2027 – should enhance rather than overpower it.

It'll be like a pinch of salt. Fool's Theory CEO Jakub Rokosz explains to PC Gamer in a new interview, "I wouldn't say that [Songs of the Past] will feel different, simply because Witcher 3 aged really well, as a game."

"It's still very relevant," Rokosz continues to say about The Witcher 3. "It became a staple for RPGs back in the day when it came out, and even now, when you replay it, you don't really feel it's an old game." In this case, words like "back in the day" and "old" refer to the candied days of 2015, which, in video game years, isn't so gravely long ago. Some of the most essential video games in history, like Silent Hill, take nearly 30 years to get a remake, or they never do, and they're never blessed with belated expansions, or even just little botox.

So The Witcher 3 is lucky: it's young, and CD Projekt Red is making sure it stays beautiful. CD Projekt Red executive producer Jakub Kutrzuba tells PC Gamer The Witcher 3 remaster launching on September 29 should look like it "released in 2026."

"All the improvements make the combat much more smooth, much more natural," explains CD Projekt's joint CEO Adam Badowski. "You can change target while playing the animation or performing strikes, and it gives the game a kind of freshness."

GamesRadar+ managing editor Ali Jones got to taste a bit of those improvements during his scripted demo time with Songs of the Past at Gamescom 2026.

"Even this story-based section seems to fit seamlessly into the existing world of The Witcher 3, while the upcoming remaster's features push much of what made the original game so special even further," Ali writes in his demo preview. See? Enhance, not overpower. Any more than that, and CD Projekt Red would be ruining a great set of bones – and the developer knows it.

CD Projekt Red snuck 30 improvements into The Witcher 3 Remastered reveal, including "immersive meditation," new quest tracking, a loot rework, and Switch 2 exclusives.

Despite it being set to launch 12 years after the original game, The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past was apparently written well in advance of its reveal.

Speaking to Eurogamer, co-developer Fool's Theory CEO Jakub Rokosz explains that, "The story was conceived, way back when, in CD Projekt Red by Ola Motyka and Philip Weber." But the writer duo – who worked on the Witcher 3 base game – "had to put it aside for various reasons." Rokosz explains that, "stars had to align" for things to finally come to fruition, and Fool's Theory had to grow in size.

Rokosz says, "A few years later, the topic resurfaced and we started working on [Songs of the Past]. We've been digging deeper, and growing it since then, and that is how it came to be the expansion you see today."

Despoina Anetaki, senior quest designer at CD Projekt Red, explains that the Songs of the Past expansion is also motivated by a desire to flesh out Dandelion as a character, explaining, "We didn't have that much space to explore him, and now we have the space to explore him, tell his story, and see him more fully. In the books, for example, he has these more philosophical conversations with Geralt – now we get to actually see a deeper side to Dandelion in the game, too."

Songs of the Past is set to launch in 2027, and it will be the third expansion for The Witcher 3. Despite the somewhat random drop – you don't exactly see game expansions releasing over a decade later very often – it sounds just as meaty as the previous Witcher 3 expansions. Its new location Letten is described by CD Projekt Red as a "fully realized open world" in its own right.

Now, why not read our The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past preview?

What brings Geralt out of retirement for The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past? The last time we saw The White Wolf, at the end of Blood & Wine, he was preparing to settle down for his retirement in Toussaint. Now, he's been dragged to a whole new corner of the continent for a new expansion that CD Projekt Red says will rival The Witcher 3's original two. The catalyst, as with many of Geralt's (mis)adventures, is his chaotic friendship with Dandelion

Specifically in Songs of the Past, however, that's Dandelion in his role Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove. At the start of my hands-off demo, Geralt has traveled to his friend's noble seat in Letten. Waking up after a wild night of partying to celebrate the Belleteyn, it's immediately clear that something is wrong. Dandelion is missing, he's lost his flute, and a threatening dream suggests to Geralt that this is no ordinary hangover.

Heading to Dandelion's family estate for breakfast, Geralt's fears for his friend are founded further by a heated conversation between his grandmother, and Dandelion's cousin, Lilla. She links Dandelion's absence with the details from Geralt's dream, pointing directly towards the mysterious Garden of Thorns and a scandal that engulfed a distant ancestor, and it's not long before Lilla and Geralt are riding off in search of Dandelion.

Thorny subject

In this scripted demo, there's relatively little chance to explore Letten itself, but lead level designer Miles Tost says it's a "fully realized open-world which you can explore freely". It's similar in scale to Blood & Wine, and there's a comparably dreamy, fairytale feeling to this new region to what we saw in Toussaint. At the same time, Tost says that there's a desire to bring this 11-year-old game into a more modern era. The new features that are launching with The Witcher 3 Remastered are most keenly seen in combat, but Letten also looks better than I remember the base game looking, with improved lighting and vastly denser environments bringing its villages to life even as you gallop through them.

That vibrancy is something The Witcher 3 has always done well, but it's clear CDPR has pushed it further here. Tost suggests that NPCs have more detailed routines and more dialogue. The world around Letten is teeming with the stories of the night before as Geralt rides Roach through its lakeside villages, inspired this time by the countryside of England and southern Poland. As the fog rises slowly off the lake and the sunlight diffuses gently through it as partygoers drag themselves back to their daily lives, Songs of the Past harks back to The Witcher 3's greatest strengths while bringing it forward into a new era.

That's felt later on too, as Geralt's monster-slaying silver sword is put to work. In the Garden of Thorns, it's very little time before the local flora and fauna turn against the new arrivals. All three fights I'm shown in Songs of the Past offer something fresh – even the one enemy type that's reminiscent of a Drowner or Nekker has a signature mechanic that requires Geralt to work around its core identity. Thankfully, Geralt has some new moves of his own. Some are subtle – improved combat animations and camera angles let his signature pirouette-style swordplay shine through while helping combat flow a little more naturally. Others are baked into the wider game – an overhauled upgrade system is now far more like an actual skill tree than a linear upgrade path.

Others still are new toys entirely. Geralt's chain – a nod to his very first adventure in the books and a mechanic cut from The Witcher 1 – is an alternative to the base game's crossbows. Flinging it out towards enemies drags them towards Geralt, closing gaps against ranged foes or, in this instance, dragging them out of their defenses to quickly dispatch them.

As Geralt and Lilla move through the garden, there's a sense of how it fits into the wider world of Letten and Songs of the Past. At one point, stumped by a riddle, we're shown a dialogue option that implies Geralt might have learned the solution from an NPC somewhere else in the world. Unwilling to dwell on the puzzle for too long, he hacks his way through the obstacle before him regardless, Doug Cockle's dry portrayal of Geralt's funnier side is as witty as ever. Later on, there's even a hint at a new romance, but we don't get to take that dialogue option, Tost explaining that he's Team Yen all the way.

The real test of Songs of the Past will come when we're let loose within its open world, that being the true test of whether CDPR has managed to recapture the magic of its RPG despite the intervening years. But, what I've seen so far is a very promising start. Even this story-based section seems to fit seamlessly into the existing world of The Witcher 3, while the upcoming remaster's features push much of what made the original game so special even further – and attempt to tighten up its weaker elements.

A new expansion a decade after the last update is the kind of thing very few studios would dare attempt. Even fewer would manage to pull it off. But, combined with the remaster's improvements, the scope of Songs of the Past currently looks set to make this a worthy new addition to The Witcher 3's enviable legacy.

Check out our best RPGs ranking to decide witch to play next!

The actual location of the new The Witcher 3 expansion, Songs of the Past, was revealed as part of Gamescom's Opening Night Live, and it's going to be a gargantuan adventure. Launching 12 years after the RPG's first release, the added gameplay is headed to the bard Dandelion's homeland.

Yes, we're headed to Lettenhove, an idealistic place on the surface that holds some mysteries underneath. "The idyllic realm of Letten is yours to explore," reads the description on the official site. "The homeland of Geralt’s greatest friend, Dandelion the bard, is steeped in rural tradition and full of buried secrets, bringing even more content to one of the most critically-acclaimed RPGs of all time."

This is interesting for several reasons. First, Lettenhove is barely explored in other avenues of The Witcher lore, such as Andrzej Sapkowski's books. It's somewhere CD Projekt Red can approach with complete creative freedom.

Then, there's the possibility this means Dandelion will be a major character. Geralt of Rivia will probably need a guide, right? Or at the very least, his old pal may want to drop in on some acquaintances given the chance.

The scale is another question. Coming so long after The Witcher 3, the expectation is for Songs of the Past to be bigger and more distinct than Blood and Wine. A developer at Gamescom explained further about what to expect.

"Letten is a fully realized open world which you can explore freely, and it's packed with new adventures for Geralt and new quests and characters that live up to our signature mature story," Miles Tost, lead level designer on The Witcher 4, during a gameplay presentation attended by GamesRadar+. "So NPCs like these are a great example of [how] Songs of the Past builds on The Witcher 3's community systems to make them more reactive and alive, and NPCs can now properly use vehicles such as cars, horses, or even fireboats, which is a small thing, but I think adds a lot."

We've known for some time the devs are looking at this as a bridge to The Witcher 4, and it seems like it's going to be a substantive re-entry to The Continent. Songs of the Past comes out in 2027.

Blizzard and CD Projekt Red team up for Diablo 4 Geralt skin and The Witcher 3 on Battle.net

Yesterday brought us Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026, which saw the reveal of various new games – and, perhaps most excitingly of all, a first look at The Witcher 3 Remastered as well as CD Projekt Red's new DLC for the RPG, Songs of the Past.

In case you missed it, the showcase outlined some of what we can expect to see in the new revamped take on The Witcher 3 come its release on September 29, from "improved combat" to overhauled visuals – and much, much more.

GamesRadar+ got to hear more about it all from Miles Tost, level design lead on The Witcher 4, starting with how the combat system is indeed going "to be much more smooth and precise."

Tost shows it in action, too, and boy, is it smooth – and there's quite a lot at play that makes it so. "We updated the camera system, character animations, sign visuals, a lot of things to make it feel more modern," as the lead puts it.

There's "cleaner foliage, improved rendering and lighting, advanced ray tracing" as well – "it really, really tries to stand up to today's games," basically, and as much is obvious from what we witness of the remaster.

As per PC Gamer, CD Projekt Red had quite a lot in mind while tweaking The Witcher 3 Remastered's improvements – including new players.

Executive producer of external projects Jakub Kutrzuba states as much: "We're mostly thinking about new players, you know? We're looking at The Witcher from that perspective – so what would be the biggest pain points? What would a player expect to be changed in order to enjoy the game?"

And, echoing Tost's own words, what would The Witcher 3 feel like "if it was a game which released in 2026?" Well, there's the smoother combat – but there's also more player freedom.

"You can change target while playing the animation or performing strikes, and it gives the game a kind of freshness," for instance, as studio head Adam Badowski explains. And CD Projekt Red put a lot of work into this whole "freshness" thing.

"We put a lot of our time into how the game actually plays…" Kutrzuba confirms. "We went through all of them and asked ourselves, 'What can we do about it, without rebuilding the game from scratch?' And we have changed a lot… the game just plays smoother, you know? There's no immersion-breakers anymore."

I, for one, am thrilled to hear that. I mean, who wants their immersion to be broken in an RPG, right?

The Witcher 3 is already admittedly pretty good at handling that as it is now, so we're thrilled to experience how much better it might be come the remaster next month. Something tells me it'll be a massive leap, considering everything CD Projekt Red says.

Blizzard and CD Projekt Red team up for Diablo 4 Geralt skin and The Witcher 3 on Battle.net

An unlikely collaboration has been revealed between Blizzard Entertainment and CD Projekt Red, the studios behind Diablo and The Witcher series, respectively.

The two companies announced the team-up in separate blogs posted to their respective websites, with CDPR sharing a substantive breakdown of the studios' relationship with each other, and Blizzard opting for a more straightforward explanation of what the collab actually means right now.

The TLDR is that The Witcher 3: Remastered, which was announced during today's Gamescom Opening Night Live, is coming to Blizzard's Battle.net launcher when it releases on September 29. Meanwhile, the upcoming Witcher 3 expansion, Songs of the Past, will also come to Battle.net when it launches next year, and if you pre-order it, you'll get a Geralt of Rivia-inspired skin in Diablo 4.

That's exciting enough, but it sounds like CDPR and Blizzard have a lot more planned for their big new partnership that's still to be revealed. "Both CD PROJEKT RED and Blizzard Entertainment create worlds that allow players to immerse themselves in captivating adventures for hundreds of hours," says CDPR global PR director Radek Grabowski in a statement. "Both studios have always had the ambition to raise the bar — for themselves and, in doing so, for the video game industry. Their worlds and characters have inspired not only other game developers, but also musicians, filmmakers, cosplayers, and, of course, countless players."

The official CDPR Twitter account adds: "And that's just the beginning of our partnership with Blizzard…"

According to Blizzard, we'll learn more about its collab with CDPR during this year's BlizzCon, which takes place on Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13. GamesRadar+ will be in attendance and you can bet your bottom dollar we'll give you all of the firsthand details as they come.

The Witcher 3 Remastered has "improved combat," which hopefully fixes the 2015 RPG classic's biggest problem

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered was the big "one more thing" announcement closing out today's Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase, and while there's an extremely wide array of new features in this release, one stands out above all the others: better combat. The often limp, floaty fighting of the 2015 original has been a sticking point since launch, and it seems that's a key point of emphasis in this remaster.

"Feel every swing, sign, and dodge like never before," the remaster's official website promises in the "improved combat" section. "With revamped animations, brutal new finishers, and an adaptive camera, the action feels more dynamic, fluid, and kinetic."

All good stuff, even if it is a bit vague. The trailer is slightly more detailed, noting additions like "new Witcher signs FX" and "enhanced monster behaviors." Add to that "revamped mount handling" and "improved traversal and movement" and you have a game that should feel a whole lot better in its moment-to-moment action.

Of course, lightweight combat was never really an obstacle to my enjoyment of The Witcher 3 around its original launch, and it hasn't stopped the game from being widely regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time. But it's good to see that, if CD Projekt Red is taking the time to polish up The Witcher 3 for a new remaster, it's giving some extra attention to one of the game's weaker elements.

We should get a better sense of what to expect from these changes soon enough, as CD Projekt Red is hosting a series of streams offering a look at the upcoming Songs of the Past DLC as well as the new remaster features, and an extended demo will be presented to players at Gamescom. The rest of us will have to wait until September 29 to go hands-on with the remaster, which will arrive as a free upgrade to all existing Witcher 3 owners on current-gen platforms.

The Witcher 3's Songs of the Past DLC includes a nod to CD Projekt Red's original 2007 RPG and its source books as Geralt wields a new silver chain.

Tonight's big Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 showcase provided us with a neat glimpse of many, many exciting new games underway – and, perhaps best of all, The Witcher 3's own big Songs of the Past DLC.

Yep, we actually have finally seen Geralt front and center in the DLC, and I couldn't be more excited after watching CD Projekt Red's new teaser trailer myself. It contains a first look at the protagonist wielding silver chains – a weapon he hasn't used since the opening of the original 2007 Witcher RPG, nearly two decades ago now.

It's kind of a huge deal, to say the least, seeing as we've only witnessed Geralt with a silver chain in that cinematic and in The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, where he used one against Adda when she was reborn as a Striga.

That's not all we see of Songs of the Past, either. Those Belleteyn theories that had folks convinced we'd finally get to experience the massive celebratory fertility festival (you know, Beltane, basically)?

It sure looks like they're ringing true, as Geralt can be seen in the midst of Belleteyn's festivities in CD Projekt Red's new trailer. Yet another first (sort of, anyway, seeing as we never got to actually wield chains ourselves) for Witcher gamers – and I'm so here for it.

The DLC isn't the only exciting news we got at Gamescom 2026 about The Witcher 3, however. We also got to see The Witcher 3 Remastered (yes, you read that right) in action, with all of its improved visuals, combat tweaks, reworked skill trees, and much more. It's never been a better time to be a Witcher stan, basically.

All of this and the fact that The Witcher 4 is still underway, too – along with the other upcoming CD Projekt Red games, of course. Please don't pinch me if this is all a silly little dream... I don't want to wake up.

The Witcher 3 devs tried to give NPCs "fear reactions" but it got cut after a few horrifying weeks when "women were just dropping their babies, left and right"

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that it currently plans to release The Witcher 4 in 2028. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski says that the game will not be shown at Gamescom this week, but he does give fans some superlative teasers about the RPG's scope and ambition.

"Our team here at CD Projekt Red HQ is hard at work on a brand new saga, one with Ciri at the helm," Nowakowski says in a video message shared with fans on social media. "We have more than 500 incredibly talented developers working to create something truly special for you. The Witcher 4 features a huge and immersive open world, intense and action-packed gameplay, and a deep, impactful story that we hope will stay with you for a long time."

While we will see The Witcher 3's new expansion, Songs of the Past, at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, Nowakowski confirms as part of this message that The Witcher 4 will not be at the show.

To our beloved fans, players, and community:As we near #gamescom in just a few days, CD PROJEKT RED Joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski would like to personally invite YOU to join us there, and hear about the future of The Witcher franchise!

— @thewitcher.com (@thewitcher.com.bsky.social) 2026-08-24T17:03:17.915Z

"Simply put, this is our biggest, boldest, and most ambitious game to date. Now, I know you're eager to learn when it's coming. That's the question we're hearing from you all the time. So while we're not showing The Witcher 4 at the event, and we're not ready to share an exact date, I can tell you this… The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release window. I know it's a bit of a wait and you'd love to play it sooner, but let the team cook. It will be worth the wait."

Put some extra emphasis on "targeting" there, because given the scale of AAA game development, it would almost be more surprising if CD Projekt Red is able to finish the game by this initial target date. The studio delayed Cyberpunk 2077 no fewer than thee times, and given its state at launch, it probably should have been delayed even further.

I've no doubt that CDPR wants to avoid another Cyberpunk situation, so I'd expect the studio to take every second of time necessary to ensure that The Witcher 4 launches in the best state it can. And while 2028 might seem miles away, look at it this way: The Witcher 4 will probably still come out before The Elder Scrolls 6.

Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 predictions: 5 games we'd like to see.

After 11 years, The Witcher 3 might finally let us experience Belleteyn firsthand in new DLC, Songs of the Past – if a Gamescom booth from CD Projekt Red offers anything to go by.

Belleteyn has sadly only been mentioned by the developer in The Witcher 3 thus far, as a massive celebratory fertility festival with food, drink, love, and you name it (think Beltane, its real-world Gaelic counterpart).

Interestingly enough, however, it is the birthday of Yennefer, and in The Witcher books, Geralt believes it's also around the same time that Ciri herself was born… so, yeah, it's a pretty big deal.

Why do we think we might get to witness Belleteyn in all of its glory come Songs of the Past, though? Well, it just so happens that Gamescom 2026 is upon us and CD Projekt Red's booth artwork at the annual event appears to show a scene from Belleteyn – fire, festivities, and the like by the water.

It's already caught the eye of excited fans, too, with one post on X reading, "That looks like Belleteyn." Indeed, it does.

Over on Reddit, theories are running wild as well, as a picture of the Gamescom booth has folks convinced it is, in fact, referencing Belleteyn.

The top response literally just says "Belleteyn," so there you have it. Another chimes in, "Looks like there might be Belleteyn festivities artwork on the left side," further solidifying that the festival is what's on all of our minds – but this isn't the first time it's presence in Songs of the Past has been proposed.

A solid five months ago now, a separate thread on the website saw somebody note, "I noticed an X post, it talks about Geralt's sword (surprisingly his THIRD sword here since he already has two on his back) being the exact same one he had next to him during Belleteyn, which is a major spring and fertility festival that corresponds to the real-world Celtic Holiday of Beltane."

This older theorizing stems from older Songs of the Past artwork showing the sword.

So, could this all truly tease some sort of Belleteyn festivities in Songs of the Past? I certainly hope so, but I suppose only time will tell – and the DLC is set to launch in 2027.

The Witcher 3 devs tried to give NPCs "fear reactions" but it got cut after a few horrifying weeks when "women were just dropping their babies, left and right"

There's a lot going on in The Witcher 3, but for as much as we see in Geralt's quest, there's plenty that didn't make the cut. One mechanic was a way for NPCs to show they were afraid of something, which got the cutting-room-floor treatment because people were, um, throwing away their children.

Philipp Weber, a quest designer on The Witcher 3, explains what happened. "Because we were focused on the countryside, it was easier for players to become curious," he tells Edge magazine.

"If a village only has eight houses, people will want to see if the people truly exist in the world or if it's just fakery," he continues. "Lots of people nowadays are interested in those kinds of details, and it really came to haunt us."

In 2026, creating scripts and pathways for a small rural community would be easy, but in 2012, it was a whole process. "We were more focused on simulating their proper day and night cycle," he remembers. "And when it came to actually reacting to the player there wasn't that much detail."

Rather than giving each a particular cycle, they made them rotate between particular activities. One might be cutting wood, then might go inside to eat, or walk elsewhere. This made places seem bustling, and prevented NPC congestion. "For the 50 sailors at Novigrad harbour, for example, we made 200 possible spots, so even if all 50 were active at the same time, they would have options," Weber says.

But then, once it came to making these characters terrified of something, it all went awry. "Our NPCs were supposed to have fear reactions," he reveals. "They would drop what they're currently working on, that thing would fall to the ground, and they'd run away, afraid. The problem was that one of the 'works' that mothers could do was to hold and cradle a baby. For a few weeks, women were just dropping their babies, left and right."

That's hilarious, in a particularly morbid kind of way, but definitely not ideal for the vibe CD Projekt Red was going for. Thus, it wound up being taken out entirely. I can only imagine how that looked to the team when they were playing. Personally, I think they could've left it in, just to see what players and reviewers would've noticed.

The Continent could use more laughs, is all I'm saying! I wonder if they figured this out for The Witcher 4 - guess we have to wait to find out.

The Witcher 3 lead says designing for player curiosity "really came to haunt us" when making sure it felt like "people truly exist" in the RPG's villages

So actor Doug Cockle, who's been the smoky voice of Geralt in The Witcher series since the first game in 2007, hates generative AI – join the club, right? Totally, but Cockle is in a unique position when it comes to feuding with the technology notorious for stealing from artists, taking over jobs, and dissolving your neuroplasticity. Generative AI steals audio of his voice as if it's the Sea Witch to his Little Mermaid, and it is hard for a hate to get more personal than that.

That's why, "if I had the power, the money, and the influence," Cockle tells Polygon in a new interview, "I would sue every single AI platform out there with my voice on it. I would sue them into the ground."

Many popular AI chatbot platforms like Character.AI feature Geralt as a companion people can do things like roleplay with, or talk to about their impending divorce. Some like Talkie even feature generated audio that pulls from Cockle's distinct rasp, so that you can hear the "real" Geralt tell you how much he loves your tawny hair and amber eyes, and stuff like that.

Actually, I just watched a YouTube documentary that chronicles a married mother's romance with her Geralt companion bot, who grumbles flirty commands in Cockle's scratchy voice.

I'm sure hearing yourself saying filthy things to a stranger isn't great, but Cockle seems truly disturbed by the more evil way people use AI to strip a real person's sense of self: using AI text-to-speech to create convincing fakes of anything they want. In Cockle's experience, they usually want something disgusting.

He says he wouldn't hypothetically sue AI companies for "money or anything else," but, instead, primarily out of exasperation with being violated in this way.

"They can make Geralt say horrible things," Cockle says. "They could make Geralt a racist. They could make him a misogynist. They could make him have political views that are absolutely horrific."

"I'm being a little bit passionate about this," he continues, "but it is the bugbear of my life at the moment."

I'm not surprised – us normal people have increasing reasons to worry about generative AI ruining our lives, whether through deepfakes, layoffs, or one of the other billion ways the tech seeks to harvest our data, then punish us with it. I imagine for someone like Cockle, whose voice is featured in hundreds of hours of publicly accessible audio through The Witcher games – basically one ginormous database – the threat of AI is much more a reality.

So he reminds those who use AI and create their own made-up realities that, actually, "There are people behind these voices – they're not just digital imprints." Someone needs to tell them – using their real, human voice.

Echoing Palworld dev, video game lawyer says all her clients have anti-AI contracts because gamers hate it and it's a copyright landmine: "I think we're going to see lawsuits."

Update: CD Projekt Red has confirmed the below reported layoffs impacting the team working on the multiplayer Witcher spin-off, Project Sirius.

"We adjusted the size of the Sirius team to reflect the project's needs at this stage of development," a CD Projekt spokesperson tells IGN, confirming that four Boston-based workers and five Warsaw-based employees have left the company. Meanwhile, nine other CDPR employees have been offered the chance to apply for potential roles on other projects in development at the studio.

Original story:

Perhaps standing as one of the least historically healthy upcoming CD Projekt Red games, the mysterious multiplayer Project Sirius is reportedly suffering yet another round of layoffs.

Although we don't know too much about Project Sirius, we do know it's been in the works for a solid four years now under The Molasses Flood and CD Projekt Red… and its teams have already undergone a couple of significant layoff rounds, having taken quite a notable hit back in 2023, "mainly on The Molasses Flood's side."

Now, according to Kotaku, it's all happening yet again.

Apparently, nine developers – albeit unnamed (with no specific roles disclosed) were affected by these most recent layoffs, with Kotaku stating another nine are "in the process of moving to other projects within the studio, alongside a broader shift in development strategy."

It sounds a whole lot like the layoffs a few years back, which were attributed to a "restructure" of sorts as well. Regardless, if true, it's certainly not good news.

As of now, Project Sirius largely remains a mystery in its content. The devs behind it have reworked it a few times now, and CD Projekt Red itself lifted the veil on some sort of free-to-play multiplayer Witcher RPG a couple of months back – but the studio never really confirmed that it was describing Project Sirius.

It's likely that we'll hear more about it soon, though, considering Kotaku's report and its implications.

Here's hoping we end up seeing Project Sirius come to fruition one day – and, if developers have truly been affected by layoffs again, they're able to land on their feet.

Searching for something to wishlist? Here are some of the best new games coming this year and beyond to look forward to.

Although The Witcher 3 protagonist Geralt isn't the most visibly (or audibly, for that matter) emotional character out there, he's still human under all that mutating and magic – and actor Doug Cockle wanted to make sure he didn't lose all of that humanity.

The legendary voice behind Geralt of Rivia explains as much in a new interview with Tom's Guide, echoing what he said back in 2018 – that he "never believed" that the protagonist "had no emotion," even if CD Projekt Red wanted him to come across that way.

At the time, Cockle didn't have any source to work from either, having not read The Witcher books or seen the Polish TV adaptation at that point. He only knew what the developers taught him about Geralt.

"The most frequent note I had," as the actor recalls, "was, 'No emotion, Doug. No emotion. Flatten him out.'" Although Cockle definitely understood the assignment, so to speak, he didn't agree entirely with CD Projekt Red's take on Geralt.

"A character with no emotions at all, how can we, as human beings, relate to that? We're not emotionless creatures." That checks out – and doubly so when it comes to actors.

"We deal in emotions," as Cockle puts it. "That's a big part of telling the story." So, that's precisely what he did with Geralt. "I was like, 'Yes, I know, I get it, I'm trying, but he's got to have some kind of emotional life, or why would we care about him?'"

When it comes to The Witcher 3 protagonist, he was aware of Geralt suppressing his feelings – but also of a "dichotomy in himself" that allowed for more than a completely emotionless character.

"He's an emotional being, he does have emotions, but he tries very hard to not let them dictate the actions that he takes." Ciri, Geralt's adoptive daughter (and upcoming protagonist of The Witcher 4, excitingly enough), serves as proof of this – Geralt makes choices that protect her time and time again. Heck, it's paramount to the entire story in The Witcher 3, to say the least. "If he had no emotions," as Cockle says, "he wouldn't make those choices."

CD Projekt Red eventually warmed up to the actor's interpretation, according to him: "As the series of games went on, the writers became more confident in the idea that he can be an emotional being and still be a little bit of a machine."

That checks out, judging by the journey from Wild Hunt to Blood and Wine – and it's evident enough in Geralt's character. It does beg the question though… how will he sound in Songs of the Past?

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what the new DLC brings…

CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, Geralt's first expansion in a decade, will get a proper reveal next month

The future of Cyberpunk 2077 was scary enough without thinking about being mowed down by cars moving like they've been shot out of a cannon. And yet, a modder has made this a reality, completely changing the experience of walking around Night City.

This particular exercise in absurdity comes from Blurbs, a streamer who specializes in making ridiculous mods. For a session with CD Projekt's dystopian RPG, he decided to dial up the speed on every car to be "super sonic," and carnage ensued.

Now, whenever he tries to walk anywhere, the danger of a car just plowing itself into a building or a wall it's going too fast to dodge is omnipresent. Silence is immediately filled by the tension of wondering where the next vehicle is going to appear from, often hearing it first, before seeing it then flipping through the air after hitting an obstacle.

"It's now a horror game," he writes on Twitter, with a compilation of antics his changes wrought up the city. Intersections are now even bigger death traps before, as vehicles just slam into each other with aplomb.

At one point, he decides to get into a car himself, only to find he can't get out of the parking lot. The physics turns him into a pinball, bouncing around the walls and corners of the concrete prison of his own making, while every touch of the accelerator just makes it worse.

While yes, this is scary, it's also hilarious. Seeing the amount of pile ups takes me back to roving through Grand Theft Auto 3 in a tank on maximum wanted level, just enjoying the chaos. Maybe that could be what Blurbs does next?

Cyberpunk 2077 quest designer says Villa Eurodyne is still full of secrets: "I have hidden a lot in this space"

A few months after Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty launched alongside v2.0, I stepped into Night City for the very first time. The experience was baffling. If I wasn't puzzling over the different kinds of operating systems and playstyles, I was getting an eyeful of every townie's butt cheeks as they strutted about Watson looking like randomized Sims. I powered through the weirdness and learned to embrace it, going on to complete it three times in less than six months.

Anything I didn't understand was chalked up to being a newbie. The lack of handholding or mechanic explanations confounded me at first, but I reminded myself that I was playing a three-year-old RPG for the first time. Maybe developer CD Projekt Red saw no need to tutorialize it too much for the hordes of returning fans, I wondered?

Only now, on my fifth playthrough, has curiosity finally gotten the better of me. One YouTube rabbit hole later thanks to videos like this, I've been confronted with how incredibly different this game was at launch. Not just in terms of being far more stable and less prone to bugs and crashes these days, but in the evolution of some pretty interesting mechanics and systems that I honestly wish I'd gotten to experience for myself. Cyberpunk 2, take note please.

Threaddy to rock

I adore games that let me diva out. I want to be the most dripped-out baddie in the Badlands, so it makes sense that one of my biggest draws into the world of Cyberpunk 2077 was V's impressive wardrobe.

I made it my mission from day-one to traverse every nook and cranny of Night City in search of the coolest threads V could lay her chromed-out hands on, and for the most part, I succeeded. One thing I shrugged off on my hunt for sartorial supremacy was the fact that clothing items, much like weapons or cyberware, are color-coded into tier grades. In the end I'd just assumed it was a Night City classist thing; grey tier-one gear was simply the cheap bargain bin stuff I'd start out with, while orange tier 5 pieces might run me a few more eddies in exchange for looking like street punk royalty. It wasn't until I finally took it upon myself to research why clothing items are tiered despite only being cosmetics that I started to feel left out.

Surprise, surprise: the color-coded tier levels on clothing items in Cyberpunk 2077 are a vestige from a time when they did serve a greater purpose. Once upon a time, gear could be crafted out of tiered parts just like quickhacks, weapons, and grenades, granting V different buffs and armor values depending on the tier level. They even had mod slots!

This resulted in some truly, uh, interesting fashion choices as players sought to min-max the hell out of their gear (as you can see from the vintage screenshot above, circa-2021). Transmog didn't exist at all, so it was perfectly acceptable to slink into a stealthy thief gig dressed to the nines in stilettos, a polka dot bra, and a hideous fluorescent beanie.

Suddenly, it all made sense. I feel highly privileged to be playing a version of the game that looks and feels fantastic, but there's something fittingly absurd about mercs cutting about Corpo Plaza like a half-dressed Barbie doll found in a dumpster. Sometimes I feel bad for being the only fashionable person in Night City as it is; how could these commoners possibly compete with Queen V's perfectly coordinated red, black, and gold outfits? But in another life, I, too, was meant to be clad in mesh vests and office slacks. Maybe I'm the weird one for sticking out like a sore thumb after all.

This is not me championing for CDPR to bring back a transmog-less world in Cyberpunk 2077. I'd sooner zero myself than let Judy see me in stained sneakers. But I do wonder how it would have felt to play the game relying on my gear to actually power me up rather than adding yet more weight and importance to the ever-grindy path of cyberware leveling instead.

Chop shop

While I'm at it, why did nobody tell me that cyberware used to come with added steps, too? Higher-level tech could only be attained at specific ripperdocs in a pre-2.0 Night City, incentivizing players to travel far and wide in search of unique ways to buff their builds.

Much as I love being faithful to V's pseudo-pops Vik Vector, it makes so much sense to me now that this is how cyberware was supposed to work, considering how districts used to be level-locked. Watson, being the pre-Heist mission "tutorial town", is the perfect low-level training ground to get familiar with the games' mechanics before nudging the difficulty level up. You can still only buy or craft tier-appropriate items tied to your character level these days – with the exception of clothing of course – but once your V is strong enough, they can get any bit of cyberware et al from any ripper closest to them.

Removing the gated difficulty settings makes for a more realistic RPG experience, with varying enemy toughness largely a surprise that keeps you on your toes until you see a quadruple-segmented health bar, but it does take away some of the signposting that helps players know exactly how they are progressing. One of my biggest difficulties with Cyberpunk 2077 when I first started playing was having literally no idea how crafting worked, or what a Sandevistan was, or which of the many, many mission pop-ups I should be tackling first.

I understand why that sense of overwhelm is part and parcel of the overall experience, but I do think CDPR missed a trick by cutting the ripperdoc stock exclusivity factor alongside the zoned difficulties. Imagine getting a call from that one doc across town who has something awesome in stock – he can't talk about it on the phone, and can only hold it for you for a few in-game hours. Or what if specific rippers specialized in different areas, offering a huge range of skeleton or appendage upgrades that grant you an extra special bonus in return for seeing a true connoisseur? Some of the lore of the ripperdocs has been lost in the homogenization of their craft, and it's something I would love to see rectified in the sequel.

I tell you all this as I dig deeper into my fifth playthrough. I'm a stone-cold corpo with a chip on her shoulder to match the one in her neck, both tucked beneath layers of plush nanoweave and velvet, as she searches for fair competition in the game of threads. It's too easy to be the most chromed out queen this side of the Blackwall, let alone the best-dressed merc. Please, Cyberpunk 2: look to your past to give me a challenge. I'll be waiting at Embers with Hanako until then. She, at least, knows how to dress.

Wake up, samurai, there are plenty of other games like Cyberpunk 2077 for a dose of dystopian RPG mayhem!

Cyberpunk 2077 is a six-year-old game at this point, but the open-world RPG probably still offers even its most committed players more tucked-away secrets to discover, according to CD Projekt Red associate game director Paweł Sasko.

Responding to a fan on Twitter who hadn't yet realized they could creep through Cyberpunk musician Kerry Eurodyne's laptop and read his aspirations about being painted nude, Sasko says, "Part of our design philosophy is to provide the player with optional ways to explore the depth of the design and narrative."

"In Cyberpunk those are emails, files, shards with additional articles and books," Sasko continues, "all telling the story of the place, characters and completing their arc."

Kerry's hilltop mansion Villa Eurodyne is particularly crammed with detail, as Sasko says, "This whole villa was designed and implemented by me, and I have hidden a lot in this space."

Some intriguing threads leave you with nothing once they're pulled – like the "random locked room" fans assumed Kerry had designated as a sex-murder dungeon, but noclip-ing into it revealed a much less fascinating, empty room. Other times, you might discover – as one fan on Reddit did – that there are two corpses facedown in the dirt outside of Kerry's villa, and this is what happens to you after you try to steal one of Kerry's guitars; a datashard near the thieving pair reveals their thwarted, deadly plan.

Cyberpunk 2077 fans are good about sharing their in-game finds as they stumble upon them, though Sasko does not not say that there are more Villa Eurodyne mysteries to unearth. So who knows – even after six years, Cyberpunk 2077 and its sleazy mansions might have more for you to learn, if you look hard enough.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a better role-playing game than The Witcher 3.