CD Projekt Red confirms Project Hadar is an Emotional open world RPG

By Ryan Messina Gaming News
5 June 2026 no comments

What Is CD Projekt Red’s Project Hadar?

Project Hadar is an upcoming, completely original role-playing game intellectual property developed internally by CD Projekt Red. It is distinct from both The Witcher and Cyberpunk universes.

According to recent studio job advertisements spotted by GamesRadar, the title is explicitly designed to deliver an “immersive” and “emotional, open-world experience.”

First announced in October 2022, the project spent its initial years in the earliest creative phases. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski recently stated that the team established the fundamental foundations of this completely new franchise earlier this year, transitioning the IP into active prototyping.

Previous job listings for quest designers reinforced this narrative-heavy direction. Candidates were required to show a deep passion for narrative-driven design. This confirms that the studio intends to rely heavily on its traditional storytelling strengths rather than pivoting to a purely systemic or live-service structure.

CD Projekt Red has revealed a new detail about its mysterious original IP, Project Hadar.

In a recent job listing, the studio described Hadar as “an emotional, open-world experience.”

Hadar is CD Projekt Red’s first completely original franchise. Unlike The Witcher, based on… pic.twitter.com/pdiIJZcqV6

— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) June 4, 2026

Current Development Team Size and Scale

Project Hadar currently has 24 developers actively assigned to it, according to CD Projekt Red’s latest financial results presentation. This count is down slightly from 26 personnel recorded at the end of February, reflecting the highly compact nature of the team at this stage.

To put this scale into perspective, the studio’s resources are heavily skewed toward its established franchises. The distribution of developers highlights where Hadar sits in the pipeline:

• The Witcher 4 (Project Polaris): 513 developers
• Cyberpunk 2 (Project Orion): 163 developers
• Project Sirius (The Witcher Spin-off): 83 developers
• Project Hadar: 24 developers

With over 500 developers driving The Witcher 4 into its most intensive production phase, Hadar remains a long-term prospect operating with a core incubation group.

Also learn more about what we know so far about the newly announced Witcher 3: Songs of the Past!

Prototyping Core Mechanics in Unreal Engine

CD Projekt Red is utilizing Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to build the foundations of the Hadar universe. The development team is actively implementing multiple gameplay prototypes directly into the engine.

Allowing them to live-test specific mechanics before expanding the scope of production. This iterative process allows the small team to verify which gameplay elements resonate before scaling up recruitment.

Nowakowski noted that designing specific elements in this fashion ensures structural stability before committing major resources. Aside from Hadar, the studio’s immediate release schedule is highly active.

The company is currently working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past, an expansion slated for release next year in 2027, alongside other unannounced projects nearing advanced development phases.

Ryan Messina

A video game enthusiast ever since I first got my hands on a Game Boy. Over the years, I've played many different games across various genres, discovering hidden gems and niche titles along the way. I'm also passionate about technology, always up-to-date with the latest news and insight in the PC and Console market. Ready to share and bring you the latest news !

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