CD Projekt Red used Gamescom 2026 and its latest financial results to lay out where it stands on three issues players keep asking about: physical releases, generative AI, and the long-promised remake of the first Witcher game. The short version is that boxes are staying, people are still doing the work, and the remake is waiting on The Witcher 4.
Boxes aren't going away
Speaking to Game Developer at Gamescom, joint-CEO Michal Nowakowski said the studio has an "affinity" with physical products and intends to keep shipping them, even as platform holders pull back. His comments follow Sony's plan to drop physical media entirely in 2028. Nowakowski noted the studio doesn't control disc manufacturing, which is in the hands of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo, and that the absence of disc drives is a factor too.
"What you can definitely expect from us is to put out a box that's going to make it worth your while," he told Game Developer. CDPR has form here: the standard edition of The Witcher 3 shipped with a map, stickers, a CD soundtrack, and a lore compendium. The catch going forward is that the disc itself may be swapped for a download code, the same approach reported for GTA VI later this year.
People, not AI, are making the games
Asked about generative AI on an earnings call, Nowakowski was blunt about how the studio plans to work. "We are still predominantly using people and this is our plan," he said, per PC Gamer, adding that AI is "a tool like many others" and that the company is "not planning to rely on AI making complete games."
He went further on the complex, hand-crafted games CDPR builds, saying, "I don't even think this is the right or ethical path to follow," while stopping short of speaking for the wider industry. AI tools are being experimented with, but they aren't central to development on The Witcher 4 or anything after it.
The Witcher Remake is on the back burner
CDPR confirmed to GameSpot, as reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, that the remake of the original Witcher is paused for now because its next stage depends on progress with The Witcher 4. The studio said the remake "has been temporarily integrated with The Witcher 4 due to production process dependencies," since it will be built on the same foundation and needs those assets, tools, and pipelines ready first.
Developer Fool's Theory is mostly focused on the 2027 Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past, with a small part of the team supporting The Witcher 4. Meanwhile, GamesIndustry.biz reports CDPR's profit climbed 37% in the first half of 2026, with most staff assigned to The Witcher 4 and the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel.
What it means for players
If you're tracking CDPR's slate, plan on The Witcher 4 leading the way, with The Witcher Remake trailing behind it and Witcher 3: Songs of the Past arriving in 2027. Collectors can expect physical editions to continue, though a box on the shelf may increasingly hold a code rather than a disc.