CD Projekt RED announces The Witcher Remake, a full remake of the first Witcher game built entirely in Unreal Engine 5

CD Projekt RED has unveiled The Witcher Remake, a full remake of The Witcher in Unreal Engine 5. No release date and no platforms have been shared just yet, though Polish studio Fool's Theory are currently developing it. CD Projekt RED shared that "veteran Witcher series staff are involved" with it.

They also revealed that The Witcher Remake was previously known as "Project Canis Majoris", which is one of the five different Witcher games announced earlier this month. The slide for the project pitched it as a "story-driven, single player open-world RPG set within The Witcher universe."

The first Witcher game has been due for a remake some time now. It originally released in October 2007 and its Enhanced Edition re-release followed it in September 2008 - both only on PC.

Here is what CD Projekt RED had to say about the announcement for The Witcher Remake.

We are thrilled to announce that The Witcher Remake is being worked on! That's right, the game that started it all is being rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5. 

The game is currently in the early stages of development at the Polish studio Fool’s Theory, where veteran Witcher series staff are involved. We, as CD PROJEKT RED, are providing full creative supervision. 

The Witcher Remake is what you might know by the codename “Canis Majoris”. It’s still early and we want to ensure that the game is created with the utmost care and attention to detail, therefore, while we’re excited to share the news with you, we want to ask you for patience as it will be a while until we start talking about this project in detail.

Adam Badowski, Head of Studio at CD Projekt RED, shared some statements about The Witcher Remake.

“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. And although it will take some time before we’re ready to share more about and from the game, I know it’ll be worth the wait.”

Jakub Rokosz, CEO of Fool's Theory, also had this to say about their collaboration with CD Projekt RED in developing The Witcher Remake.

"I am very happy that my professional paths have crossed again with fellow developers from the time of working together on The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3. Especially when it's a remake of a project that is so close to our hearts.”

“We are excited to join forces with CD PROJEKT RED, and our goal is to give players another great game from the iconic Witcher series."