News recently broke about CD Projekt Red’s plans forThe Witcher 4’s release window. Specifically, an earnings call from the developer revealed that the highly anticipatedWild Huntsequel wouldn’t launch until at least 2027, and while CDPR hasn’t ruled out a launch window of 2028 or later, 2027 seems like a fair guess, at least for now. After all, the company revealed the game last year, and it no doubt wishes to avoid another lengthy gap between reveal and releasein the wake ofCyberpunk 2077.
This could makeThe Witcher 4coincide with yet another hotly anticipated fantasy RPG:The Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda’s long-awaitedSkyrimsequel was revealed all the way back in 2018, in a move that is being increasingly viewed as frustrating and bizarre as time goes on; audiences have not seen hair nor hide ofTES 6in nearly seven years. Now thatStarfieldis out of the way, many assume that Bethesda will be cruising at full speed toward anElder Scrolls 6release, and 2027 seems like a reasonable guess: 2028 will mark ten years since the game’s flaccid E3 reveal, so it’s probable that Bethesda will want to beat that anniversary.
The Witcher 4 and The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Be in Direct Competition in 2027
2027 Could Be a Major Throwback Year for Fantasy RPGs
The impact thatThe Witcher 3andSkyrimhad on the gaming landscape during the 2010s can’t be overstated. In 2011, few had experienced a world as vast and multilayered asSkyrim’s, and even those familiar with previousElder Scrollsgames were floored by its stellar quest design, organic exploration, and, quite frankly, impeccable vibe:Skyrim’s soundtrack is still as iconicas ever. Four years later,The Witcher 3arrived, offering a very different sort of fantasy experience, but one that was no less revolutionary. Despite their differences and four-year gap,The Witcher 3was initially viewed as aSkyrimcompetitor, so ubiquitous was the latter’s chokehold on the fantasy RPG genre.
Even ifThe Witcher 4andThe Elder Scrolls 6don’t release in the same year, it’s looking increasingly likely that they will both arrive sometime in the late 2020s, mirroring this older rivalry. Of course, one can expect these games to be distinct from their predecessors in meaningful ways, informed by the games each developer has released in the interim, perhaps even by other popular fantasy RPGs of the past few years as well. But the dynamic of competition will likely still exist, which will be interesting to behold.
Context Matters for The Elder Scrolls 6 and The Witcher 4’s Presumed Competition
For better or worse, these games will be compared to one another, just like howThe Witcher 3was relentlessly compared toSkyrimat the time of its release. But things are fundamentally different now:The Witcher3was something of a newcomer to the mainstream gaming space, challenging the Goliath that wasThe Elder Scrollsat that time. But with the larger-than-life legacy ofThe Witcher 3, not to mentionthe now-redeemedCyberpunk 2077,The Elder Scrolls 6may be the one challengingThe Witcher 4.
At the risk of being reductive, one could say that the positions of CD Projekt Red and Bethesda Game Studios have been swapped. Audiences are less enthused about BGS games in the wake ofStarfield’s mixed reception, not to mentionthe fiasco that wasFallout 76, especially at launch. But CD Projekt Red has become a AAA powerhouse in the last decade, behind at least one of the most seminal RPGs of all time. It will certainly be fun to see these two weathered studios go toe-to-toe again, either in 2027 or after.
The Witcher 4
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The Witcher IV is a single-player, open-world RPG from CD PROJEKT RED. At the start of a new saga, players take on the role of Ciri, a professional monster slayer, and embark on a journey through a brutal dark-fantasy world. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, it aims to be the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date.
