CD Projekt Red’s Project Hadar Moves to Prototyping as The Witcher 4 Team Expands

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Project Hadar — the Warsaw studio’s new IP, entirely separate from The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises — has entered the prototyping phase of development, with 26 developers now actively building and testing game systems. Simultaneously, The Witcher 4 team has expanded to 499 developers as of 28 February 2026, up from 447 in October 2025, with the studio adding more than 220 staff across all projects in the past twelve months.

Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski made both announcements during CD Projekt’s 2025 earnings presentation, stating: “Work on the project is progressing dynamically, and the team has established the foundation of this entirely new IP. Now, we are designing specific elements that might be included in the game, creating multiple prototypes and implementing them directly in Unreal Engine.” The investor report was published on 19 March 2026 and reported by Rock Paper Shotgun.

Alongside the Hadar and Witcher 4 updates, Nowakowski confirmed that Cyberpunk 2 — the studio’s sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 — has reached the pre-production stage with a team of 149 developers, up sharply from 84 a year ago.

Project Hadar: What the Prototyping Stage Means

Project Hadar is a new intellectual property from CD Projekt Red — built entirely from scratch within the studio and set in neither the Witcher nor Cyberpunk universes. As of February 2026, 26 developers are assigned to Hadar, down from 29 in October but up from 17 a year earlier. The studio has disclosed almost nothing publicly about genre, setting, or tone, though a 2025 job listing surfaced references to an action RPG with an emphasis on melee combat.

Prototyping Stage in Game Development

Prototyping is a meaningful milestone in a game’s development lifecycle, but it does not indicate the game is near release. Project Hadar moves from pure concept work — where the studio had established the IP’s “key pillars” and “distinguishing features” — into active prototype creation, with teams testing whether mechanics conceived on paper hold up when built in Unreal Engine. Studios typically spend six months to two years in prototyping before committing to full production, and full production on an AAA RPG then runs three to five years after that.

For Hadar, entering the prototyping phase in early 2026 places a plausible release window between 2029 and 2032 — but only if prototyping resolves quickly. The 26-person team signals the studio is not yet scaling up: Hadar is still in a low-headcount exploratory phase.

What CD Projekt Red Has Not Disclosed About Hadar

CD Projekt Red first announced Project Hadar in 2022, describing it as a third IP built “entirely from scratch” within the studio. Four years later, the studio has still not disclosed the genre, setting, tone, or platform targets. Nowakowski’s quote confirms the team has “clearly-defined distinguishing features” for the world — but those features remain internal. The deliberate silence reflects the studio’s post-Cyberpunk 2077 communications policy: avoid committing publicly to details that may change during development.

The Witcher 4 Team Is Expanding — What the Numbers Signal

The Witcher 4 team’s growth from 411 developers in February 2025 to 499 in February 2026 — an increase of 88 people in twelve months — marks a significant scale-up for what CD Projekt Red describes as its most ambitious project. The Witcher 4, known internally as Project Polaris, stars a new protagonist and is built on Unreal Engine 5, departing from the studio’s proprietary REDengine used across The Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077.

Nowakowski stated that new hires are focused on implementing solutions from the Unreal Fest tech demo “across the entire game.” CD Projekt has confirmed plans to release The Witcher 4, 5, and 6 within a six-year window, positioning Polaris as the first game in a new trilogy.

Why UE5 Changes the Witcher 4 Talent Pipeline

Building The Witcher 4 on Unreal Engine 5 rather than a proprietary engine significantly broadens the available talent pool. UE5 expertise is widespread across the games industry; REDengine expertise is rare and concentrated. The shift means CD Projekt can recruit broadly from studios across the world rather than limiting candidates to developers with REDengine backgrounds — which is a direct enabler of the rapid headcount growth now underway.

Cyberpunk 2 Reaches Pre-Production

The same investor report confirmed that Cyberpunk 2, the studio’s sequel to the 2020 RPG, has entered pre-production. The Cyberpunk 2 team reached 149 developers as of February 2026, up from 84 a year earlier — the fastest proportional growth of any CDPR project over the twelve-month period. Pre-production is the stage at which the game’s structure, scope, and major systems are locked before full production begins. CD Projekt spent 513 million złoty (approximately 139 million USD) across all future game development in 2025, with the majority directed at The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2. The company reported 2025 as its second-best profit year on record.

What SEA Fans of CD Projekt Red’s Work Should Expect

The Witcher franchise has a strong following across Southeast Asia, anchored by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s sustained relevance as a benchmark for open-world RPG storytelling. The Witcher 4’s current team size of 499 developers — approaching the scale of large AAA productions — and its UE5 foundation signal a project targeting parity with the highest-budget titles in the genre.

Project Hadar carries more uncertainty. The studio’s refusal to confirm genre or setting means SEA audiences cannot yet gauge whether Hadar is likely to resemble The Witcher’s fantasy RPG structure or something distinct. The action RPG / melee combat signal from job listings is the only public-facing hint at the game’s direction.

The 19 March investor update confirms that CD Projekt Red is running three simultaneous development tracks — The Witcher 4 in full production, Cyberpunk 2 in pre-production, and Hadar in early prototyping — while maintaining a total headcount of 933 developers. The studio’s second-best profit year on record provides the financial runway to sustain all three tracks concurrently. Source: CD Projekt investor relations.