At Gamescom 2026, developer CD Projekt Red confirmed it is targeting a 2028 release window for the highly anticipated The Witcher 4, the first game in a new trilogy. Running on Unreal Engine 5, the game is set to debut on current-gen consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S) and PC. Plus, with the game on track for 2028, there will probably be a version for PlayStation 6 and Xbox Helix.
Although The Witcher 4 is still a couple of years off from release, CD Projekt Red has confirmed that there will be a physical edition of the game. Yes, you'll be able to walk into a retail store on day one to pick up your physical copy. However, when it comes to what's inside the box for those picking up The Witcher 4 on PS5, that all depends on Sony.
Speaking with The Game Business, CD Projekt joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski told the outlet that the studio has "no influence on the policies of the first parties," and that if Sony lives up to its promise of halting game disc production at the beginning of 2028, then The Witcher 4's boxed retail copy will ship without a disc.
"The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories," Michał Nowakowski said. "If they stop manufacturing by 2028, then yes (we won't have a disc)."
On the plus side, CD Projekt Red is all-in on tangible physical releases of its games, so if there's no disc, it's going to ensure that each physical copy of The Witcher 4 has some goodies inside.
"We're big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things," Nowakowski adds. "We're nerds ourselves, and we like that. We always supported that. 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."
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Ever since Sony announced it would halt PS5 disc production starting in 2028, backlash has been widespread and vocal. So much so that it's become the main topic of community discussion even when it comes to things like gameplay deep dives for the highly anticipated first-party Marvel's Wolverine game coming out later this year. There have also been online petitions and a coordinated blackout (PlayStation gamers going offline in protest of the move), with the 'no disc' issue still being talked about several weeks after the announcement was made.
