Despite releasing after Sony‘s physical game deadline, CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 4 will have a game box with something on PS5, even if it doesn’t have a disc.
I’m sure we all know the story by now: Sony announced it would end physical disc production for PlayStation consoles in 2028, and everyone is upset and calling Sony out for its anti-consumer, anti-preservation moves. Meanwhile, Sony wants to remind people they don’t own their games, with its lawyers offering the frankly ridiculous argument that no one thinks they own a digital game, because only one person could ever have it. While some devs – like Hideo Kojima – have publicly expressed concern, there’s been word that many publishers are quietly unhappy with the decision.
This was then followed by the news that The Witcher 4 will release in 2028 if all goes to plan, and many put two and two together and concluded that this would put the massive RPG in the digital-only realm on PlayStation.
Speaking to The Game Business, CD Projekt Red joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski explains that the decision is out of its hands: “We know what PlayStation has announced. And we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes [we won’t have a disc].”
However, even if The Witcher 4 does not have a disc, Nowakowski pledges there will be something for physical-game fans. “We’re big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things,” he explains, “So, whatever is the case, we’re going to be for sure having a box. We’re going to have a box that’s going to have some feelies in it. Something you’re going to be wanting to open up and enjoy. But we have no influence actually on what’s the case here.”
CD Projekt Red is also one of the few third-party publishers that released a Nintendo Switch 2 game on an actual cartridge rather than a Game-Key Card, with Cyberpunk 2077 being the only launch game outside of Nintendo’s own to be complete on the cart. And while it’s currently digital-only, the studio has confirmed details of The Witcher 3 Remastered’s Switch 2 physical edition are coming “when the time is right.”