Last week, CD Projekt Red revealed the first trailer for their upcoming video game The Witcher IV, the highly anticipated sequel to their groundbreaking hit The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The studio's first two Witcher games did well, but The Witcher 3 brought the series into the cultural zeitgeist in a new way. The original Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski were reprinted in English and various other languages around the world. Netflix caught on and made a TV show starring Henry Cavill as witcher Geralt of Rivia. And CD Projekt Red racked up so many awards for The Witcher 3 that it became one of the most lauded games of all time.
All this is to say, there is an outsized amount of anticipation surrounding The Witcher IV. In this new game, you'll assume the role of Ciri of Cintra, the young princess whom Geralt took under his wing and trained into a proper warrior. The reveal trailer for the game shows Ciri visiting a village where the people are about to ritually sacrifices a resident to appease a monster. In classic Witcher form, Ciri slays the monster, only to find out the villagers have killed the young woman who was to be sacrificed anyway. There'll be no simple happy endings in this franchise.
I've read all The Witcher books and played the games, so I was not surprised at all about the announcement that Ciri would be the lead for The Witcher IV. The previous games teed this up pretty clearly; Geralt even retires at the end of the third game's Blood and Wine expansion, content to live out his days on a vineyard in Toussaint after decades of fighting monsters and even worse humans. But what did surprise me was some of the fan reaction to Ciri, which has ranged from insane hype to dog whistle accusations of The Witcher going "woke" to gross comments about how she should look prettier while she's wading through the muck fighting monsters on behalf of an ungrateful populace. In the game, I mean.
Others hoped to be able to create their own witcher in this new game, rather than play as a predetermined character. But according to the developers at CD Projekt Red, unleashing Ciri as the protagonist of The Witcher IV has always been the plan.
"I remember discussions after releasing Wild Hunt, that you know, it was the natural path for her to prove herself," The Witcher IV Game Director Sebastian Kalemba told PC Gamer. "And she always loved Kaer Morhen, the childhood, the moments she spent with witchers and with her foster father Geralt. And that was a very natural choice for us. There's time for her, and there's plenty of room for her, and for us also, to build on top...there's so much room for exploration, because she's such a nuanced character, but also at the beginning of her journey. That gives us freedom and so many opportunities to be able to dig in."
"It was in talks already when we were doing The Witcher: Wild Hunt actually," added Executive Producer Gosia Mitręga. "She was already a playable charactere there, right? So this was kind of the natural choice. She's also younger, and there's a lot in front of her as well...we know her story, but she is less defined of a character, because she's younger, because she lacks experience, and because she's so passionate as a person, and she cares so much. It gives us an amazing opportunity for us as creators, and for the players after when they will get to play the game, to experience more uncertainty and more surprises because of that character."
Knowing that The Witcher development team was already eyeing Ciri as their next protagonist all the way back during the development of the last game is very reassuring. There's no doubt that this is a decision they're putting their all behind. It also seems to indicate that the best ending for The Witcher 3, where Ciri becomes a witcher to follow in Geralt's footsteps, is probably the ending that will form the core of the canon for Ciri's next chapter.
Geralt will appear in The Witcher IV
But what about Geralt of Rivia? After all, he's such a beloved character that it's hard to imagine him not appearing at all in The Witcher IV. If you're worried about Geralt turning up, you can lay that fear to rest: Kalemba confirmed that we'll be seeing him in the next game in some capacity.
"We pay respect to everything we've created so far, so you know, players that know this game, The Witcher, the world, they for sure remember that the last time they've seen Geralt was actually in the 10th anniversary video," he said. "That he's actually been there in this mansion he got from Queen Henrietta, that he invited all his friends and he put his sword on the mantle. He's there in Toussaint. He's so important for us and for Ciri. Definitely, he's going to appear in the game. I cannot tell you more, but I think the promise is enough."
So there you have it: official confirmation Geralt will appear in The Witcher IV. As for what form that appearance will take, we have only theories. The most fun one I've seen floating around is that Geralt might show up as the final boss for the Gwent mini-game, which is slated to make a return in this game. Personally, I'd love to see Ciri take on Geralt in a round of cards at his mansion in Toussaint, so I'm here for it.
"But yeah, we believe that this journey, the new saga, this new trilogy is definitely for [Ciri]," Kalemba said.
No release date has yet been announced for The Witcher IV. Given that we've only seen a cinematic trailer and no gameplay as of this writing, I'd guess we'll probably be playing it in 2026 at the earliest. But if you can't wait that long for your next round of Gwent, there's also a long-requested physical release for the iconic card gaming coming next year, so you can finally play it with your friends at game night:
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