The Witcher 4 is in production hell because of the Unreal Engine

Daniel Vavra, creator of the Kingdom Come trilogy and Warhorse Studio co-founder, criticizes Unreal Engine's limitations for complex open-world games, suggesting it's the source of The Witcher 4's development challenges. He claims Unreal struggles with detailed environments, particularly vegetation, stating, "Unreal works well for deserts and rocks, but the engine couldn't handle trees for a long time." Vavra points to Unreal's Nanite technology as insufficient for realistic vegetation rendering.

A CD Projekt employee reportedly confirmed to Vavra that scenes easily rendered on RED Engine presented significant difficulties in Unreal, leading to considerable production setbacks. Vavra questions CD Projekt's decision to switch from their own capable RED Engine to Unreal, noting that most open-world developers utilize proprietary engines.

Vavra also highlights the high system requirements of Unreal Engine, requiring expensive hardware inaccessible to many players, despite its impressive visual capabilities.

Meanwhile, anticipation builds for the February 4th release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, continuing Indřich's story with enhanced visuals, refined combat, and a historically-grounded narrative. This article will provide updates on system requirements and estimated playtime, and will offer download instructions upon the game's release.