CD Projekt Red officially put to bed the false reporting about The Witcher 4

CD Projekt Red and Epic Games have teamed up to showcase the technology powering The Witcher 4, the upcoming next installment in the critically acclaimed Witcher franchise.

The new tech showcase was debuted at the State of Unreal event and immediately took social media by storm with thousands of users sharing the footage, along with media publications. Unfortunately, some of those media publications incorrectly reported that what was showcased was official gameplay for The Witcher 4. That isn't the case. There is a difference between a tech demo and gameplay, and the difference is that a tech demo is purpose-built to showcase specific aspects of the game, such as the engine capabilities and technical features.

A tech demo demonstrates the capabilities of the engine powering the game, while a gameplay reveal, or showcase, shows off the actual game and what players will experience when they play it. This difference can mean tech demos can be very different from what players will actually experience, and in some instances, what players see in tech demos isn't even available to play/experience within the released game.

The Witcher 4 developers, CD Projekt Red, explained this in a recent statement to Video Games Chronicle, with the developer writing, "This is a tech demo, and a first look at the cutting-edge technology powering The Witcher 4 - but not The Witcher 4 itself. It showcases the powerful foundation we're building in close collaboration with Epic Games to push open-world design further than ever before and the core systems and features we're developing using Unreal Engine 5."

Adding, "We're really proud of this early milestone and excited to give you a sneak peek at some of the cool tech like UAF, Nanite Foliage, Smart Objects, ML Deformer and FastGeo Streaming that are helping shape the future of The Witcher."