{"id":5136,"date":"2026-06-05T15:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/?p=5136"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:26:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:26:33","slug":"cd-projekt-red-project-hadar-new-ip-everything-known","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/cd-projekt-red-project-hadar-new-ip-everything-known\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Hadar: Everything Known About CD Projekt Red’s New IP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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CD Projekt Red is building a brand-new franchise called Project Hadar. From open-world RPG mechanics to melee-focused combat, here’s every confirmed detail about the studio’s third major IP.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

CD Projekt Red is developing a completely new intellectual property codenamed Hadar, separate from both The Witcher and Cyberpunk universes. First revealed during a Q3 2022 earnings report, the project remained shrouded in secrecy until 2025 and 2026 brought a steady stream of details through financial calls, developer presentations, and job listings. As of April 2026, 24 developers are actively working on the project, which has entered its conceptual phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Project Hadar?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Project Hadar is the codename for CD Projekt Red’s third major franchise. Unlike the studio’s existing properties, it is being built from scratch as an entirely original universe with no ties to The Witcher’s fantasy setting or Cyberpunk’s dystopian future. The studio has described it as a long-term investment designed to span multiple products, not just a single game release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project was first disclosed in October 2022 when CD Projekt outlined its long-term strategy. At the time, the team was still in the earliest exploratory phase, refining its core vision and building initial prototypes. Since then, development has slowly progressed through what the company calls its “IP incubation” period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The March 2026 Earnings Update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most substantial official update came during CD Projekt’s FY2025 annual earnings call in March 2026. Joint CEO Micha\u0142 Nowakowski shared what he called “an important development update” on Hadar, stating: “Work on the project is progressing dynamically, and the team has established the foundations of this entirely new IP. Now, we have clearly defined distinguishing features of this world, and established key pillars that will not only provide the foundation for the game itself, but also, potentially, for other future products.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowakowski confirmed that the team was actively designing specific elements for the game, creating multiple prototypes and implementing them directly in Unreal Engine. “This allows us to live-test and verify how selected mechanics and gameplay elements can perform,” he noted. This marked a significant step forward from previous years, where Hadar updates had been limited to brief mentions of conceptual work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Size and Development Stage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CD Projekt Red’s total developer headcount reached 975 as of April 2026, spread across multiple projects. According to the Q1 2026 earnings presentation, 513 developers were assigned to The Witcher 4, 163 to Cyberpunk 2, 83 to Project Sirius, and 24 to Project Hadar. The Hadar team stood at 26 people at the end of February 2026, dipping slightly to 24 by late April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This modest team size reflects Hadar’s early development stage. The March 2026 update confirmed the project had moved from its initial setup phase into the “conceptual phase,” meaning the IP foundations are in place but full pre-production has not yet begun. For context, The Witcher 4 had already moved into full production with over 500 developers, while Cyberpunk 2 entered pre-production with 149 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Emotional Open-World Experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In early June 2026, CD Projekt Red published a job listing for an Engineering Director on its official careers page, assigned specifically to Project Hadar. The listing described the role as helping “push the envelope for the next, immersive game in the Hadar world, creating an emotional, open-world experience that will stay with gamers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the clearest official description of Hadar’s design philosophy to date. It confirms an open-world structure and a focus on emotional storytelling, aligning closely with the studio’s signature approach in both The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises. The Engineering Director position requires at least 12 years of professional experience, including 5 years in a lead role within the games industry, along with deep knowledge of Unreal Engine 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melee-Focused Combat System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Senior Gameplay Designer job listing published in July 2025 provided the first gameplay hints. It required candidates to have “5 years of experience in a melee-oriented action RPG,” strongly suggesting that Project Hadar will centre on close-quarters combat rather than the gunplay-heavy approach of Cyberpunk 2077. This has drawn comparisons to The Witcher series, where swordplay and physical combat were central to the gameplay loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional listings for quest designers and story engineers have emphasised a desire for candidates “passionate about narrative-driven and emotional design,” reinforcing the idea that Hadar will combine visceral melee combat with deep storytelling. The studio appears to be crafting an experience that is physically grounded yet narratively rich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built on Unreal Engine 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2, Project Hadar is being developed using Unreal Engine 5. CD Projekt Red has worked closely with Epic Games to build custom features on top of UE5, some of which Epic has since incorporated into the base engine for the broader development community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowakowski’s March 2026 comments confirmed that prototypes are being built and tested directly within Unreal Engine, providing a real-time feedback loop that helps guide design decisions even at this early stage. A Lead Gameplay Engineer (NPC Behavior) listing from May 2026 further confirmed that the team is leveraging UE5’s capabilities while also “pushing its boundaries even further.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Could Hadar Release?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Project Hadar sits behind both The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 in CD Projekt Red’s development pipeline. The Witcher 4 is widely expected to launch in 2027 or later, and Cyberpunk 2 will follow after that. Based on the studio’s stated production cycle of 3 to 6 years for a major title, and given that Hadar is still in its conceptual phase, a release window in the early 2030s appears most likely. Some analysts have speculated it could arrive around 2031 or 2032.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CD Projekt Red has indicated that running multiple projects in parallel should shorten the gaps between major releases compared to its earlier sequential development model. However, with Hadar’s team currently at just 24 people, it will take considerable scaling before the project reaches full production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CD Projekt Red’s Financial Position<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The CD Projekt Group posted 867 million PLN in revenue and 595 million PLN in net profit for 2025, its second-best year in company history. In Q1 2026, the group reported 191 million PLN in revenue and 106 million PLN in net profit. Total financial reserves (cash, bank deposits, and bonds) stood at approximately 1.41 billion PLN as of the end of March 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This financial strength gives CD Projekt Red the autonomy to invest in long-horizon projects like Hadar without external funding pressure. In 2025 alone, the company invested over 513 million PLN in future releases, with the majority going toward The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2. As those projects approach completion, more resources are expected to shift toward Hadar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Franchise Strategy, Not Just a Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nowakowski’s language about Hadar’s “key pillars” providing a foundation “not only for the game itself, but also, potentially, for other future products” signals that CD Projekt Red envisions Hadar as a multi-product franchise. This aligns with the company’s broader “franchise flywheel” strategy, which aims to expand each IP through games, transmedia content (such as Netflix’s The Witcher series and the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime), and licensed merchandise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CD Projekt Red has explicitly stated that it is building Hadar’s IP with this long-term, multi-format approach in mind, treating the initial game as the first entry in a potentially much larger universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What We Still Don’t Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is Hadar’s setting?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No details about the game’s world, time period, or genre setting have been officially confirmed. The fact that it is described as entirely separate from both The Witcher (fantasy) and Cyberpunk (sci-fi) leaves the door open for a wide range of possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which platforms will it target?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No platform announcements have been made. Given the likely release timeline in the early 2030s, the game will almost certainly target next-generation hardware. Some speculation has linked it to a potential PS6 generation launch window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the team so small?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With Hadar still in its conceptual phase, a large team is not yet necessary. The studio is focused on establishing the creative and technical foundations before scaling up. As The Witcher 4 ships and Cyberpunk 2 progresses, developer capacity is expected to shift toward Hadar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will it be a single-player RPG?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While no official genre confirmation exists beyond the job listing clues, every indication points toward a single-player, narrative-driven, open-world action RPG. The emphasis on melee combat, emotional storytelling, quest design, and cinematic systems all align with this profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Hadar represents CD Projekt Red’s most ambitious long-term bet: creating a brand-new franchise from scratch while simultaneously developing sequels to its two established series. With its financial reserves, growing development teams, and a proven track record in open-world RPGs, the studio is positioning Hadar as the third pillar of its future. Concrete reveals may still be years away, but the foundations are clearly being laid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CD Projekt Red is building a brand-new franchise called Project Hadar. From open-world RPG mechanics to melee-focused combat, here’s every confirmed detail about the studio’s third major IP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[285],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5138,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5136\/revisions\/5138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}