In the four years since its announcement, CDPR has revealed little about Hadar, which will not be based on any existing property. That distinguishes it from the studio’s other major titles — The Witcher originated with Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, and Cyberpunk 2077 was built around TTRPG maker Mike Pondsmith’s work. (Eurogamer has previously spoken with both Sapkowski and Pondsmith about their respective creations.)
Earlier this year, Nowakowski shared “an important development update” on Hadar’s status (the March report). He said the project was “progressing dynamically,” that the team had “established the foundations of this entirely new IP,” and that it now possessed “clearly defined distinguishing features of this world.” He added that key pillars would underpin not only the game but “potentially, for other future products,” noting prototypes were being built in Unreal Engine.
According to CDPR’s most recent financial report published in September, 33 people were working on Hadar as of 31 July — a small team relative to the studio’s other projects. At last count, 519 people were on The Witcher 4, 184 on Cyberpunk 2 and 84 on the Mehrspieler Witcher game Project Sirius, which was recently hit by layoffs.
Nowakowski also discussed The Witcher 4 during the interview, calling it “our most ambitious project to date.” He said CDPR wanted to “avoid repeating ourselves,” so each title should “introduce new narrative and gameplay solutions” along with “innovations” in main and side quests. “We want players to be confident that when they sit down to play this title, it pushes the boundaries of what an RPG can be and is technologically advanced,” he said. The Witcher 4 was recently given a release target of 2028.
He also referenced the recent Remastered update for The Witcher 3, saying sales remained strong — above pre-remaster levels even after the launch discount period ended. That impact was evident when The Witcher 3 broke its Steam concurrent player records after the Remastered edition was released.
Finally, Nowakowski addressed the impact of Sony’s decision to phase out PlayStation disc production starting 2028, which could jeopardize a physical release of The Witcher 4. He reiterated much of what he has said previously on the matter (his earlier remarks).
A studio doesn’t simply decide to release a game and then distribute the physical version itself. If a particular manufacturer completely shuts down the option to release games on physical media, they simply won’t be available.
Michał Nowakowski
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