FILE PHOTO: A bird flies in front of the Cd Projekt logo at its headquarters in Warsaw, Poland January 21, 2020. Picture taken January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
GDANSK (Reuters) -Poland's biggest video game maker CD Projekt on Friday released a trailer for its planned new game in the blockbuster "Witcher" fantasy series.
After the troubled release of its previous big-ticket game "Cyberpunk", CD Projekt has been careful not to indicate when "The Witcher IV", currently in the full-scale production phase, will premiere.
The single-player role-playing game is a successor to "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt", expanding the universe of the medieval fantasy franchise which has sold more than 75 million copies since the first game was released in 2007.
Analysts expect it to debut in 2026 or 2027, leaving CD Projekt without a major earnings driver until then.
The company's shares reversed an early gain of almost 6% to trade 4.4% lower at 0924 GMT.
"Some investors were very optimistic about this teaser, but it was a point that the market had been playing on for almost half a year," BDM brokerage analyst Krzysztof Tkocz told Reuters, adding that the share price in coming days would likely be driven by how the trailer is received.
"The Witcher IV aims to be the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date," CD Projekt said in a statement.
The game is led by Ciri, the adopted daughter of Geralt of Rivia, the main character from the previous Witcher games.
It is being developed using customised Unreal Engine 5 technology, which also powered the six-minute trailer.
Erste Group analyst Piotr Bogusz said the trailer can show the target quality of the game.
"Interest in the trailer is relatively high, and the trailer itself is rated mostly positively."
(Reporting by Adrianna Ebert, additional reporting by Rafal W. Nowak; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
