The Witcher Remake is Getting the Full Open-World Treatment Reveals CD Projekt Red

Last month we heard that CD Projekt Red and new Polish developer Fool’s Theory were working on a remake of the original The Witcher, which raised some questions. Thanks to The Witcher 3, the franchise is now synonymous with open-world RPGs, but the first game in series was more of a traditional linear action-RPG, albeit one with some room for player choice. Would players be willing to return to less expansive take on the Witcher franchise?

Well, it turns out they won’t have to. CD Projekt Red’s Q3 2022 earnings report is out, and in it they let slip that The Witcher remake will be a “story-driven, single player, open-world RPG.” So, it seems like the folks at Fool’s Theory are going to be revamping the game in a pretty major way. Here’s what CDPR studio head Adam Badowski had to say about the remake project back in October…

“The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD Projekt Red. It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it feels just as big, if not bigger. Collaborating with Fool’s Theory on the project is just as exciting, as some of the people there have been previously involved in The Witcher games. They know the source material well, they know how much gamers have been looking forward to seeing the remake happen, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games.”

CD Projekt Red also provided an update on what their internal studios are focusing on. The Witcher remake, codenamed Canis Majoris, is not included here as Fool’s Theory is not an internal CDPR studio.

As you can see, the number of CD Projekt Red devs focused on maintaining and updating the core Cyberpunk 2077 experience has dwindled away. Instead, the majority of the studio is focused on the upcoming next-gen-exclusive Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion. A decent chunk of the studio has also begun preliminary work on Witcher trilogy, codenamed “Polaris,” and the Molasses Flood is ramping up work on their currently-untitled Witcher project, codenamed “Sirius.”

What do you think? Excited for a full-on open-world version of The Witcher? Or would you actually prefer the devs stick with a more old-school approach?