The narrative director ofThe Witcher 4says that the team at CD Projekt Red isn’t trying to topThe Witcher 3, but rather do justice to its incredible legacy as one of the most beloved RPGs of all time. WhileThe Witcher 4is likely still a few years away, early glimpses of the game have fans excited, with the title promising impressive graphics, a vast open world, and more of the Polish studio’s intricate storytelling.
Properly revealed with a lengthy cinematic story trailer at The Game Awards 2024,The Witcher 4will feature Ciri as the main character, something that has divided fans. While manyWitcher 3players expected Geralt’s adopted daughter to feature prominently in the next game, others are wary about the change, with some concerned that a focus on the Lion Cub of Cintra would take away from what made the previous title great. In June, the game’s engineering production manager, Jan Hermanowicz, asked fans to avoid making judgments too soon, as the initial trailer only showed one small glimpse at Ciri’s overall character.
As more tidbits about the game begin to surface, many eager players wonder howThe Witcher 4can possibly topThe Witcher 3, with the latter having sold over 68 million units since its 2015 release and earned over 200 game of the year awards. According to narrative director Philipp Weber in a new interview withGamesRadar+, the goal isn’t to surpass the previous title, as he understands that games are subjective. “I think the way we want to do justice to the legacy ofThe Witcher 3is to take the philosophy we had - how to make a game, how to really care about these things, how to tell stories - and keep that philosophy,” Weber said. “I think it’s really trying to have that healthy mix of really moving forward and also trying out some new things, but doing justice to what was there, not trying to beat it.” In a previous interview, Weber credited many of the lessons learned duringThe Witcher 3’s developmenttoThe Witcher 4’s potential success, highlighting how important it has been for the development team to keep the elements that players love while also experimenting with fresh content.
The Witcher 4’s Narrative Director Wants to ‘Do Justice to the Legacy of The Witcher 3'
While details remain scarce, a recent comment from CD Projekt Red’s VP of technology, Charles Tremblay, implies thatThe Witcher 4is being developed with consoles in mind, potentially signaling bad news for PC players. This may be due to the disastrous state ofCyberpunk 2077at launch, with the RPG’s release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One riddled with bugs and glitches, later leading the studio to offer refunds.
Although hype forThe Witcher 4is continuing to build, CD Projekt Red may not be done with the previous game in the franchise just yet, as rumors indicate thatThe Witcher 3could be getting a new story DLCsometime in 2026. The title hasn’t received any DLC content sinceBlood and Winewas released in May 2016.
