CD Projekt warns against fake Witcher 4 beta test invites: 'This is a scam'

Ciri casts an offensive magic sign in a fight with a monstrous spider.

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Did you receive an invitation to a Witcher 4 closed beta test? No you didn't, according to developer CD Projekt, which says the purported invites offering an early look at the new game are in fact just a scam.

"Recently, we've been getting reports from some community members that they've been invited to a beta test of The Witcher 4—this is a scam!" the studio wrote on Bluesky.

One such closed beta invitation—not a real one, remember—that apparently appeared on Instagram was posted to Reddit last week. As is often the way with these things, it looks fine in a brief, at-a-distance glance, but a closer view gives away the game through numerous spelling and grammatical errors.

The Witcher 4 fake closed beta invitation — (Image credit: clevverguy (Reddit))

But some people just don't make it to that step: They see "Witcher 4 beta" and immediately mash the button, and the trouble begins. It's human nature, really—as with so many things, we should know better by now, but seemingly we do not.

CD Projekt said that if it does put together any beta tests in the future, "you will hear about it first, as always, via our official social media and websites," rather than through an ad on an external platform.

1/3 Recently, we've been getting reports from some of our community members that they've been invited to a beta test of The Witcher 4 &mdash; this is a scam! &#128680; 2/3 We've been taking the necessary steps to take this fraudulent messaging down. That said, if you receive any invites to or stumble upon news of one, we kindly ask you to report the scam using the tools available to you in your email client or the social media platform you are using. — (Image credit: CD Projekt (Bluesky))

The likelihood of that happening seems slim—I don't think any previous Witcher game or Cyberpunk 2077 went through external beta testing prior to release—and even if CD Projekt did decide to offer a closed beta for The Witcher 4, the game's not expected to be out until sometime in 2027 at the soonest. Given that time frame, we've got a good wait yet before beta testing even becomes a reasonable possibility.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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