New The Witcher game may not feature Geralt

GAMING NEWS Sacha Loric - Mar 23, 2022, 16:00

It’s been a long time coming, but yesterday we finally have confirmation of a new The Witcher game officially under development, “kicking off a new saga for the franchise.” That said, it may not feature the main character of The Witcher at all.

A brand new saga

Geralt has been equated with the series ever since the first The Witcher hit gaming shelves. It's fairly difficult to imagine the games without him.

However, a clue from the teaser image reveals that Geralt may not be the focus of the new game. Rumors and questions abound: will the game star Ciri? Will we glimpse Geralt or is truly he out?

In the image teased during the announcement, we see a medallion partially covered in snow that is definitely not from the School of the Wolf. It resembles more of a cat. It looks like the one Ciri wore in The Witcher 3, which lends credence to her being the main character of this new game. Another possibility is that it could be from the School of the Lynx, although that school isn’t considered part of The Witcher canon.

Ciri, with her iconic Witcher medallion, stands in a dimly lit area. Her outfit shows intricate details.

No “crunch” this time

In related news, veteran Witcher director Jason Slama has confirmed that unlike The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, there will be no “crunch” this time round for developing the new game. Crunch, in video game development terms, refers to working developers for an overextended number of hours to finish terms, something that CDPR has been criticized repeatedly for in its previous games. Slama has since responded by saying: “not on my watch.”

Of course, CDPR has promised this before. Let's see if it sticks this time.

Close-up of Ciri from The Witcher. She wears armor and looks thoughtful.

That’s all we have so far on the new Witcher game, which fans are calling “The Witcher 4” for now. There’s won’t be much news this early in development, but we will definitely keep an eye out for more announcements.