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

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Game Engine Version Notes
The Witcher 2 REDengine (early version) First major use of CDPR’s proprietary RPG engine.
The Witcher 3 REDengine 3 Improved open world streaming, terrain, and vegetation.
Cyberpunk 2077 REDengine 4 Built for vertical cityscapes, dense NPC traffic, and advanced lighting (including path tracing on PC).
Cyberpunk 2077 sequel (in dev) Unreal Engine 5 CDPR is transitioning future projects away from REDengine.
**Latest news & forum flavor**
  • 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.