'The Witcher 4' Skipping the Game Awards Despite Nomination - Here's Why

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher 4, one of the industry's most anticipated RPGs, will not appear at The Game Awards 2025. That's despite the fact earning a nomination for Most Anticipated Game.

The announcement arrived directly from CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski, who thanked fans for their support but made it clear that no new reveals or updates are planned for the show.

The surprising decision comes at a time when excitement around the next Witcher saga is reaching its peak. Yet, according to CD Projekt, the studio is not ready to show new material and is instead focusing entirely on full-scale production behind the scenes.

In his official message on X, Nowakowski expressed appreciation for the nomination but made it clear that The Witcher 4 will not have any presence beyond the category in which it is competing. CD Projekt will be watching the show as spectators, focusing its energy on internal development milestones instead of preparing public demos.

This choice aligns with statements made during the company's financial Q&A earlier this year. Leadership reiterated that the game is now fully in production but still too early to show.

Development is progressing according to plan, but the studio is not ready to reveal additional content, gameplay, or release information.

The Witcher 4 continues to move forward, but it is not far enough along to justify another major public appearance.

'The Witcher 4': What We Know So Far

Although the game is still in deep production, CD Projekt has shared several broad details about the gameplay direction. The Witcher 4 will be a single-player open-world RPG built around decision-making and long-term consequences.

Players will control Ciri, who begins the game early in her witcher journey. Unlike Geralt, she is less experienced and more emotional, which will influence both combat encounters and narrative choices. Her ability to wield magic in ways other witchers cannot will be central to the combat system, giving players a wider range of offensive and defensive options.

The studio has also emphasized more reactive storytelling, deeper character interactions, and the complete removal of simplistic fetch-quest structures. Inspiration is also being drawn from Crossroads of Ravens, the newest Witcher novel, mirroring how The Witcher 3 integrated themes from Season of Storms.

The studio has not announced a release date, target year, or supported platforms. Internal financial documents have suggested that the game will not be ready until 2027 at the earliest, following confirmation that 2026 is not under consideration.

Development Cycle Expected to be Lengthy

The lack of a release window is intentional. CD Projekt is determined to avoid the mistakes of previous projects by refusing to commit to timelines before the team is confident it can meet them. The development cycle is expected to be lengthy, and the studio is focused on quality rather than speed.

The gaming community still remembers how poorly executed Cyberpunk 2077's launch was. It was filled with bugs and it lacked a lot of promised features. It took CD Projekt Red over a year to completely fix the game. The developer was lucky that it was able to gain the community's trust back.

We're sure that for The Witcher 4 and even the upcoming sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, they'll be extra careful when it comes to launching games.