CD Projekt Red says that the State of Unreal's The Witcher 4 tech demo shows that swapping from its RED Engine to Unreal Engine was "worth it," and that "it's not like we lost things because of the transition," anyway.
Speaking after the State of Unreal showcase, Julius Girbig, Senior Technical Animator – Coordinator, is full of praise for the engine when asked about the jump to Unreal from RED.
"We had a blast with Unreal," he says. "We played around with all the different systems, how it's built, all the different features inside. Obviously, it was a well-thought-out decision to move over.
"We looked at a bunch of different engines, really evaluated it, and it was a conscious decision that Unreal is the right tool for us in the future, and especially when we move to multiple different projects at the same time. And I think the demo actually shows that it was worth it, the work that we put in is paying off."
When asked whether it was Unreal's feature set that tipped the decision to use it, Girbig has the following to say:
"When we're looking at an engine, an engine is essentially just a toolbox, right? We're just looking at 'what does this engine give us? What do we already have?' And it's not like we lost things because of the transition.
"We're bringing our experience that we already have from RED Engine, all the AAA open-world with streaming, all that experience, we're now bringing over to experts that have been building engines for years as well, and have that experience of running multiple projects - huge ones at that. Look at Fortnite. And it's that combination that makes us really strong."
Alongside a monster that went unseen in The Witcher 3 and horse anatomy, the main pull of The Witcher 4's tech demo, aside from the sights, was the region of Kovir. It all looks stunning, but, naturally, you'll want to keep those expectations somewhat in check as director Sebastian Kalemba says the tech demo "showcases both our ambition for the game and the in-engine capabilities," but "isn't a demo" of the RPG.
Chamber pots, spit, and pigs: Between the stunning views, The Witcher 4's Unreal Engine 5 tech demo is the grimy medieval mess I was hoping for.
