Witcher 4 Tech Demo: Why All The Suspicion?

It was over ten years ago when The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt took the video game world by storm. Since then, fans have been hungrily gobbling up any information about CD Projekt Red’s sequel, The Witcher 4. Well, they’re in luck, as a brand new tech demo dropped for the game.

While this has led to a lot of people excited about the title, there has also been an intriguing counter reaction: suspicion. A swathe of people online think The Witcher 4 looks a bit too good to be true—and they’re being vocal about it.

This reaction is fascinating, because it shows the impact increased exposure to teasers and adverts has had on the public. Before we get there though, some context.

The Witcher 4 will be an open-world role playing game (RPG) where you take control of Ciri, an eponymous witcher. These figures hunt monsters in a fantasy world.

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt was a huge success, winning a range of Game of the Year awards and leading to a variety of other media, including a Netflix series that (originally) starred Henry Cavill.

Yet, a decade has now passed since that title launched—and fans are clambering for more. This is where the tech demo comes in.

Shown at the State of Unreal event, CD Projekt Red used an early development Unreal Engine 5 tech demo to showcase some of the technology behind the upcoming title.

The company was keen to point out this wasn’t in-game play, rather “a deep dive into the technological foundation of the new Witcher saga.”

This though hasn’t stopped some people from reacting negatively to it:

This begs a simple question: why? What is driving this suspicious reaction?

Why Are Some People Negative About ‘The Witcher 4’ Tech Demo?

There are a few things at play here. One of the more surface level is the confusion between a tech demo (something showing the capabilities of a game engine) and a trailer (something, hopefully, showing the game itself).

Some appear irritated that this tech demo of The Witcher 4 is unlikely to actually look much like the game itself—even though that’s not the point per se of a tech demo.

Taking that argument of it being a tech demo is a little too surface level though. Instead, this suspicion about the trailer tells a more interesting and deeper story about the relationship between marketing and proof in media.

The internet has exposed more and more people to adverts. Not only do individuals have to interact with advertising on billboards, television, or public transport, they are also inundated with them wherever they go online.

While this has a variety of impacts, for this argument, the important idea is that people are now used to being advertised to, they’re innately familiar with the practice.

Broadly speaking, this means they’re hyper aware of potentially being misguided about a product or title—especially if they care about it.

A study on movie trailers entitled ‘The Effects of Film Trailers on Shaping Consumer Expectations in the Entertainment Industry’ found that when there’s a divide between something in a trailer and the end product, people feel dissatisfaction.

This is accelerated if it’s a topic they care about, like The Witcher series.

That’s not all though. CD Project Red also has history with this difference between an advert (even if it is a tech demo) and the end product:

What this leads to is one of distrust and suspicion. People are so used to advertising tactics that they’re now tuned into how these practices can alter expectations and are, potentially, less willing to suspend their disbelief. Especially whey they’ve invested in a title.

With CD Projekt Red having history with releasing undercooked games, this is a perfect combination of people to express their wariness and desire for something that fulfils their expectations.

Ultimately, The Witcher 4 is one of the most anticipated games around. Yet the nature of the advertising industry and CD Projekt Red’s previous titles has led to people not celebrating the tech demo, instead being suspicious of it. I would say we’ll have to wait for gameplay footage, but I expect a similar response then.

So how will we know if The Witcher 4 is any good? Well, we’ll just have to wait for launch.