The Witcher 4 is reportedly set to revolutionize NPCs

Red Dead Redemption 2 set the standard for NPCs inside the game and it looks like CD Projekt Red is expanding upon it with The Witcher 4. In an interview with Gamertag Radio co-host ‘Parris Lilly’, the Executive Producer and the Game Director for Witcher 4 revealed that they are planning to make every single NPC feel alive.

“We have this rule to make every single NPC looking like they’re living, with their own story,” said Game Director, Sebastian Kalemba. NPC or Non-Player Characters inside an open-world game are quite important and can make or break immersion, especially inside an RPG game.

“We’re definitely pushing the quality of NPC, the way they look, their behavior, their facial performance – as much as possible because we want to make an even more immersive experience than we used to. We are trying to push the bar here,” Kalemba added.

Also Read: CDPR's Witcher 4 will not make same mistakes as Cyberpunk 2077

CDPR to create an immersive world for The Witcher 4

RDR 2 is a great example of pushing the limits of realism as many have noted that NPCs inside the game have their daily cycle including animals and birds. Over the years, the NPC and interactions have improved a lot but none of the games have been able to achieve a complete immersion like RDR 2.

With the next mainline entry by CDPR, the studio is likely looking to gain back its reputation. Cyberpunk 2077's launch was a huge setback but the game recovered, and while the NPC inside the game does have things they do, it isn’t as deep as one would expect with almost all NPCs being the same as each other.

The Witcher 4 reveal was incredible but doesn’t give much information. While the trailer did have NPCs with their views on what was happening, it was cinematic. Hopefully, the switch in-game engine will help the studio achieve what they are planning to do, and hopefully, the feature will also shift towards the next installment in the Cyberpunk game series.