Mysterious "new IP" from CD Projekt Red is now in early pre-development stages: "We are designing specific elements that might be included in the game, creating multiple prototypes"

CD Projekt Red just confirmed during its 2025 earnings conference that its shadowy project Hadar has entered preliminary pre-production stages.

The Witcher 4 studio first revealed Hadar in 2022, providing hardly any details on the title aside from the fact that it would be made "entirely from scratch" from within CD Projekt Red and – the studio stressed – was brand new. At the time, the developer confirmed that Hadar was only in the concept phase, or "the earliest stages of the creative process." This latest update, years later, marks definite progress.

That's a relief, since CD Projekt is so busy with The Witcher 4 – apparently, nearly 500 of its 933 developers are currently tinkering on the upcoming RPG. But no one's forgotten about Hadar… whatever it is.

CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski said during the studio's earnings conference, as shared by the official CD Projekt investor relations Twitter account, that "the team has established the foundations of this entirely new IP." An accompanying presentation slide reiterates that Hadar has its "IP foundations set," and developers are "shifting focus to the game."

Nowakowski explains, "Now, we are designing specific elements that might be included in the game, creating multiple prototypes and implementing them directly in Unreal Engine." It all still sounds too uncertain to really be called a "development period," but it's clear CD Projekt Red is at least heading toward pre-production – which is exactly where fans want them to be.

The Witcher 4 will cost CD Projekt almost $800 million between development and marketing, estimates analyst who also predicts new The Witcher 3 DLC this year.