CDPR and Epic Games Sign a 15-year Deal; 'The Witcher 4' Director Revealed

We got to know the director of the next Witcher game. What's more, CD Projekt RED has shared the details of its deal with Epic Games. In addition, we know what the future holds for REDengine and the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Jason Slama holds the position of director of "The Witcher 4";
CD Projekt RED's deal with Epic Games was signed for 15 years;
The studio's next games are to be powered by Unreal Engine.
The expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 is powered by REDengine.

Yesterday, CD Projekt RED officially announced a new game set in The Witcher universe. Unlike the studio's recent productions - which run on the in-house REDengine - it will be created using Unreal Engine 5 technology, for which Epic Games is responsible.

The release date, target platforms, and even the title of the project have not been announced. However, this did not stop fans from speculatinh about what the alleged "Witcher 4" will be. Moreover we've learned some details about the game's direction and future games from the studio.

The director of "The Witcher 4"

Jason Slama, former director of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game posted on Twitter what follows:

I am super thrilled to announce that I have humbly been working to ensure the success of the next big AAA The Witcher game as its Game Director (...)

What's more, according to his profile description on LinkedIn, he has held this position since last June.

CD Projekt RED and Epic Games

From yesterday's report of CD Projekt S.A. - published on Bankier.pl [in Polish] - we learned some interesting things about the deal between CD Projekt RED and Epic Games:

"According to the Agreement, the Company has the right to develop and release games based on Unreal Engine 4, 5 and its subsequent versions.

The contract was signed for a period of 15 years with the possibility of its further extension and does not limit the number of games created using the Unreal Engine. The agreement provides for dedicated technical support from Epic for titles released by the Company."

Negotiations between CDPR and Epic Games lasted from December 20, 2021 until yesterday.

The benefits of the deal

In the press release (via Bankier.pl [in Polish]) Adam Kicinski - president of CD Projekt - specified what benefits this cooperation brings to both entities:

"The core of the partnership is cooperation between developers CD Projekt RED and Epic Games on improving the UE5 engine with regard to open world games , as well as its optimization for the requirements of the new The Witcher and our upcoming games.

This is definitely more than a simple purchase of a license to use the engine - we are establishing a strategic partnership, part of which is a mutually beneficial exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas between our teams. Our agreement with Epic Games only covers the engine and related technology; it does not include game copyrights."

According to the announcement, Epic's collaboration with a company dedicated to making extensive open-worlds games will enable the former to better calibrate Unreal Engine technology for sandbox productions.

Full focus on game development

The partnership will enable CD Projekt RED to focus fully on the game development process itself, without having to worry about improving the technology on which the studio's works are based:

"The REDengine has served us well over the years - it's the technological backbone of The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. After a series of internal analyses, however, it became clear to us that we need to put more emphasis on the technological aspect and give it a central place in the game development process.

Unreal Engine 5 and the associated support from Epic Games provide a platform which will enable us to focus on creative work and issues beyond the development of the engine itself," added Kicinski.

Cyberpunk 2077 expansion and more games

The president of CD Projekt indicated in the press release that "an expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 is being created based on REDengine".

The studio's upcoming titles, however, are expected to run on Unreal Engine 5 or subsequent iterations of that technology when they come out.

Summary

Developers working at CD Projekt RED are supposed to go through special courses to familiarize themselves with the Unreal Engine 5 technology.

A lot of games have been created based on Epic Games' engine - both independent ones and AAA productions. Many developers around the world are thus familiar with these tools.
CD Projekt RED's move therefore opens up to "much broader recruitment prospects" within the ranks of the studio.

Slama's experience

Jason Slama, before he joined CDPR in 2014, worked for six years at Ubisoft Quebec, where he was involved in, among other things, Xbox 360 and PS3 ports of Assassin's Creed III.

He is the one responsible for programming the entire Gwent mini-game in Wild Hunt.
Since 2015, he supervised the programmers of its standalone version, titled Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Two years later, he was appointed director of the project. Slama held this position until May 2021.

Crunch

Slama made the announcement on Twitterthat he will do his best to avoid crunch in the production of "The Witcher 4".

In an interview for the website IGN he announced that when he was the director of Threadhe managed to achieve in his team a work environment devoid of this phenomenon.