The Witcher 4 Tech Demo Revealed During State of Unreal 2025, Runs on Base PS5 Hardware at 60FPS

CD Projekt Red, the masterminds behind The Witcher 3’s sprawling fantasy, teamed up with Epic Games at the State of Unreal 2025 keynote to drop a tech demo for The Witcher 4 that’s pure eye candy. Running at a buttery 60fps with ray tracing on a plain old PS5, this Unreal Engine 5.6-powered showcase proves the next Witcher is gunning for greatness.

Ciri, stepping in as the new monster-slaying lead, prowls through a lush forest and Valdrest’s bustling marketplace, a demo that flexes Unreal Engine 5.6’s knack for packed, lively worlds. “The demo is designed in part to show off how the latest iteration can handle both bustling scenes and foliage in an open-world setting,” Epic said. With over 300 animated NPCs, swaying trees, and wind-tossed leaves, Valdrest feels like a world you could reach out and touch.

Horseback roaming, a Witcher staple, gets a serious glow-up. Ciri’s steed, Kelpie, glides over rough terrain with slick animations and tighter controls, leaving The Witcher 3’s Roach in the dust. “No compromise means how ambitious we are when it comes to bringing our vision to life with incredible visuals,” game director Sebastian Kalemba said at Unreal Fest. It’s traversal that feels effortless and epic.


Unreal Engine 5.6’s Nanite and Lumen tech steal the show. Nanite crams insane detail into every rock and rooftop without breaking a sweat, while Lumen’s real-time lighting bathes Valdrest in dynamic shadows and reflections that shift with the sun. X users went wild, one hyping the “explorable region” and “new UE5 features like Nanite,” raving about a world that’s both massive and intimate.

The nine-minute demo teases meaty RPG gameplay. Ciri’s moves, driven by a new Unreal animation framework, are smooth and precise, fitting into that 60fps budget with room for deep systems. “An entirely new Unreal animation framework, allowing us to fit easily in our 60 FPS budget—not just in rendering, but also with room to spare on the game thread,” Epic’s Wyeth Johnson noted. Valdrest’s marketplace, alive with shouting vendors and Slavic-fantasy vibes, feels like a character itself, every NPC adding to the pulse.

Switching from CD Projekt Red’s REDengine to Unreal Engine 5.6, the demo loads worlds lightning-fast. “Together with Epic, we’ve created faster ways to load the world,” Kalemba said, ensuring no annoying pauses in your monster-hunting flow. Though not final gameplay, this tech showcase screams ambition, backed by a cinematic trailer cementing Ciri’s gritty role. No release date yet, but X fans called it “absolutely incredible” for its PS5 performance and visual punch.
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