CD Projekt RED is aiming high for The Witcher 4, with a 60 FPS target on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X—but the Series S could miss out. Developers admitted that hitting this performance mark on the cheaper console will be extremely tough. Even with next-gen tech, Microsoft’s smaller box looks set to fall behind its siblings.

The Witcher series has redefined open-world RPGs, especially with its most recent entry. After The Witcher 3 sold over 60 million copies, players have spent years waiting for its sequel. But trust in CD Projekt RED was shaken by the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, a reputation the studio hopes to redeem with The Witcher 4—with fresh priorities and ambitious goals.

The Witcher 4 Might Not Hit 60 FPS on Series S

CD Projekt RED confirmed that The Witcher 4 is being built with a “console-first” mindset: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are supposed to get a stable, high-quality 60 FPS experience to avoid a repeat of Cyberpunk 2077’s rocky launch. The studio admits, however, that achieving this on Xbox Series S will be “extremely difficult”—according to Charles Tremblay, vice president of technology, in a chat with Digital Foundry.

The main challenge is the Series S hardware itself, with a much weaker GPU than its bigger sibling. While The Witcher 4 only entered full-scale development a few months ago, CD Projekt RED already showcased a technical demo in Unreal Engine 5, running at 60 FPS and with ray tracing on a base PlayStation 5. On the Series S, it’s almost certain the game will top out at 30 FPS just to maintain its visual fidelity.

Still, The Witcher 4 isn’t expected until 2027 at the earliest, and actual optimization hasn’t even begun yet. Everything could change by then—including the arrival of the PlayStation 6 and the next-gen Xbox within three years. Relatedly, CD Projekt RED recently denied rumors about new DLC for The Witcher 3 that would bridge into the fourth installment.

Source: 3djuegos