what engine is cyberpunk 2077 using
Cyberpunk 2077 uses CD PROJEKT RED’s in‑house game engine REDengine 4 , the fourth generation of their proprietary REDengine technology.
Quick Scoop: What engine is Cyberpunk 2077 using?
- The game is built on REDengine 4, not Unreal Engine or Unity.
- REDengine 4 is an evolution of the tech used in The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3, tailored for a dense, vertical open world like Night City.
- It powers the base game and its expansion content; future Cyberpunk sequels are moving to Unreal Engine 5, but Cyberpunk 2077 itself remains on REDengine 4.
A tiny bit of “story”
Think of REDengine as CDPR’s custom toolkit that grew up with their games: from The Witcher 2’s early REDengine, through REDengine 3 in The Witcher 3, to REDengine 4 built specifically to handle Cyberpunk 2077’s busy open world, streaming city districts, and advanced lighting like full path tracing on high‑end PCs.
Engine facts at a glance
| Game | Engine Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Witcher 2 | REDengine (early version) | First major use of CDPR’s proprietary RPG engine. | [2][6]
| The Witcher 3 | REDengine 3 | Improved open world streaming, terrain, and vegetation. | [5][6][9]
| Cyberpunk 2077 | REDengine 4 | Built for vertical cityscapes, dense NPC traffic, and advanced lighting (including path tracing on PC). | [10][1][9][5]
| Cyberpunk 2077 sequel (in dev) | Unreal Engine 5 | CDPR is transitioning future projects away from REDengine. | [4][3]
- Developers have stressed they are proud of REDengine and that the switch to Unreal for future games is a strategic move, not because REDengine was “bad.”
- Community discussions often point out that Cyberpunk 2077’s path tracing “RT Overdrive” mode is a showcase of what REDengine 4 can still do on modern hardware.
TL;DR: Cyberpunk 2077 runs on CD PROJEKT RED’s own REDengine 4 from launch through its expansion; the Unreal Engine era starts with the sequel and other new titles, not this game.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.