‘The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt’ Blood and Wine DLC Release Date; What’s Next For CD Projekt Red with ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ and ‘Witcher 4’?

By Mark Rollins
The Witcher III:  Wild Hunt
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released on May 19th to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. (CD Projekt Red)

It is no mistaking that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was one of the most acclaimed games of 2015, and its DLC (Downloadable Content) of Blood and Wine is one of the most highly anticipated updates of 2016.  The good news is that fans of the RPG won't have to wait too long to visit the world of Toussaint, but what is next for developer CD Projekt Red after this?  Most signs point to Cyberpunk 2077, but is there a Witcher 4 in the future?

Polish studio CD Projekt Red has recently released a trailer for the DLC, showing that Toussaint is a place filled with some "gorgeous women, amazing culture, and a bustling economy untouched by the fires of war", according to Vine Report.  Of course, it wouldn't be The Witcher game if some conflict wasn't involved, but apparently the Third Northern War which is the game's backdrop hasn't arrived here...yet. 

In case you haven't heard, Blood and Wine are the last DLC from CD Projekt Red for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.  This will be the last Wild Hunt for Geralt (the protagonist of the series), but there is already talk about making a sequel. 

Studio co-founder Marcin Iwinski says that they "honestly don't know" about the future of the game series.  "We don't have anything planned as of now, to be honest on the next Witcher, as we said before, never say never, right now it's Blood and Wine.  This is the End.  Blood and Wine are closing, and there won't be any Witcher anytime soon if there ever will be one.  And I would like to see how people feel about it if they will enjoy it."

So what is next for CD Projekt Red?  Two words: Cyberpunk 2077.  This game is based on a Cyberpunk series of tabletop role-playing games, and that is about as little as is known about it.  There is a trailer for the game that shows a very obvious influence from Blade Runner and The Matrix, but this game is probably not slated to arrive until 2017 at the earliest, with no preview to be shown at the E3 2016 video game conference next month.  

As of right now, it is too early to say whether or not CD Projekt Red is working on The Witcher 4.  After all, it takes years to program a decent AAA video game, particularly of the caliber that the company is known for.  It is possible that the company is doing some work on Witcher 4 as we speak, using some of the code to create a new world for Geralt.  However, we are talking literal years in the making, but perhaps the fourth game is the next AAA game from CD Projekt Red.  We will have to wait years to see.