The Witcher 4 Tech Demo Unveiled on PS5 with Unreal Engine 5 – PlayStation Blog

Okay, so let’s dive right in. I mean, you know how these things go, right? Anyway, CD Projekt Red, those folks behind The Witcher, are working hand-in-hand with Epic Games. They’re saying they’re moving mountains with open-world game design or something. I didn’t really see that coming, but here we are.

So, they’ve got this Witcher 4 Tech Demo, showing everybody the cool stuff they’ve been cooking up with the new Unreal Engine 5. Nah, it’s not actual gameplay, don’t get your hopes up — more like a tease. But guess who they’re following? Ciri. She’s knee-deep in monster business in this new place, Kovir. It sounds kind of rugged, like a place you’d visit if you are really into trade or avoiding the military squabbles up north. Which, who knows, might be a smart move.

The real deal here — it’s all about the tech, right? They had it playing live, full 60 FPS on a PlayStation 5. Impressive, I suppose. They want to share this tech magic not just for Witcher 4 but, like, spread the love across the gaming community using Unreal Engine 5. So, I guess they’re thinking big picture here?

Oh, and here’s a thing. Early in the demo? They introduce Kelpie, Ciri’s horse. So much cooler than Roach, sorry Roach fans. They’ve got this ML Deformer tech — makes Kelpie’s muscles move all realistically. No idea how they pulled that off without the game slowing down to a crawl, but it’s happening.

And then there’s Fast Geometry Streaming. The big guns for loading all those snowy mountains and forest valleys. Smooth as butter, apparently. Ever notice when stuff just pops into view like magic? Well, these guys have pretty much sorted that with this tech. So, there you go, seamless world reveal stuff even if you race through the land like there’s no tomorrow.

Oh! Almost forgot. Nanite Foliage tech — yeah, it’s all about eking out every tree detail in dense forests. Picture this: leaves, branches, all swaying to the wind like real life. It’s like they’ve taken tree-hugging to a whole other level.

And what’s with the Unreal Animation Framework? They’re using it to make places look alive and packed with life. Villages and towns bustling with NPCs that don’t just stand around like statues. Heck, in Valdrest or something, they’ve even got bands playing and characters actively reacting to what’s happening. Almost like, they’ve got personality. Ciri’s world is all vibrant, you’d think it was real or something.

Right, so — Mass Framework, last but not least. They say it’s simulating gigantic crowds and keeping them bouncing around with minimal lag. Picture this, Ciri’s brushing past a guy with a bunch of apples, and poof, there goes his balance. Apples rolling everywhere, kids diving in like it’s a free-for-all. Hilarious. Gotta say, it does sound like they’re aiming to make The Witcher 4 more immersive. Maybe too immersive? Who knows. But that’s the scoop!