CD Projekt RED has clarified that transitioning to Unreal Engine 5 for Cyberpunk 2077 does not mean starting from scratch in terms of development tools.
Last year, the Polish studio announced that The Witcher remake would be created on Unreal Engine 5, leading to the decision to abandon their proprietary engine, REDengine, which had been used since The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
“It won’t be like starting from scratch,” said Cyberpunk 2077 director Gabe Amatangelo. “When implementing features like Ray Reconstruction, there are various methodologies that can be applied to new engines. We have learned from and fine-tuned the architecture of our previous engine. While there are similarities and differences between Unreal Engine and REDengine, our engineers have determined that the differences are minimal and that strategically transitioning to Unreal Engine 5 is the best choice for our future creative endeavors.”
Therefore, REDengine underwent its final test with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, but it is important to note that the Polish team’s graphics engine is not considered outdated. The decision to switch engines is a strategic one, with the intention of further improvement.
“There are certain aspects in which REDengine outperforms Unreal Engine, and we are collaborating with Epic Games to incorporate those aspects into their engine as well. It’s about maximizing our capabilities on both systems. Both engines allow us to achieve incredible results, and while there are nuances to consider, the goal is to increase our productivity. It’s not necessarily about doing things better, but about doing more. It’s a matter of scalability.”
Article from www.playground.ru