The Witcher fans concerned about release window for new trilogy

If you're a fan of the CD Projekt RED Witcher RPGs, I'm willing to bet you're incredibly excited about the fact the studio just announced it plans to make three more of them.

Even if you've only played The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (and let's face it, that's the only one most of us have played), you'll know that CDPR just gets The Witcher universe. It knows how to create a vast, lived-in fantasy world, and I can't wait for more.

We already knew that CDPR was developing a new AAA Witcher game using Unreal Engine 5, of course. But thanks to a surprise announcement made yesterday, we now know this is the start of a brand-new saga which will be told over the course of three new games. We also discovered a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is in development, alongside yet another Witcher RPG and a multiplayer Witcher experience. Blimey.

But as great as this is, fans are more than a little wary of the news - and with good reason. As part of the announcement, CDPR said that it's aiming to release all three games in the new trilogy over the course of just six years.

Is that enough time for three massive open-world RPGs? Our gut reaction would be absolutely not, especially since the last instance of an ambitious RPG that was released too soon and failed to deliver on its promises was developed by this exact studio. Based on this early evidence, it sure looks like the big bosses at CD Projekt have completely failed to learn their lesson.

"This sounds like way, way too much to announce when everything is basically in pre-prod," Reddit user archlector argued. "And planning for two more sequels, three years apart? That seems like madness..."

A second user added: "I really don’t like sound of that three games in six years part. I want them to put more time and care into each game and not mass produce them like this."

While this news should absolutely raise eyebrows, it is worth noting that CD Projekt president Adam Kiciński stressed that the second and third instalments in the trilogy will benefit from being able to build on the foundations set by the first game.

"In this way we aim to smoothen the development process while at the same time staying creatively ambitious," he said.

Just how smoothly this will go - and if CDPR can stick to this timeframe without crunch - remains to be seen. For now, scepticism is very much justified.