Geralt of Rivia appearing in a Witcher game might sound like a given, but after The Witcher 3 conclusively ended his story, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would make a return. Now, voice actor Doug Cockle has confirmed what everyone pretty much suspected — the White Wolf will be making an appearance in The Witcher 4, but this time you won’t be walking around in his mud-caked boots.
“The Witcher 4 has been announced,” Cockle told YouTube channel Fall Damage. “I can’t say anything about it. What we know is that Geralt will be part of the game, we just don’t know how much. It’s not about him. We don’t know who it’s about, I’m excited to find out.”
Cockle goes on to say that he hasn’t even seen a script for the sequel yet, but playfully adds, “I couldn’t tell you if I did. I could be lying through my teeth.”
After the release of The Witcher 3, developer CD Projekt Red made it clear that while the Witcher series would be continuing, its long-time protagonist and moody monster hunter Geralt would no longer be its star. The first three games in the series focus on Geralt’s journey, and CD Projekt Red says that The Witcher 4 will be the start of “a new saga” — though technically the developer isn’t calling the next game The Witcher 4, instead using the working title Polaris.
Beyond that scrap of information, we don’t really know anything about Polaris. Cockle’s recent interview marks the first time Geralt has even been confirmed to appear, however likely it might seem from the outside. But given that the end of The Witcher 3 wrapped up his story, it was never a guarantee that he would return. There was nothing stopping CD Projekt Red from setting the game far in the future or past, or just pointing its camera at a part of the world where Geralt wasn’t present.
It’s also worth noting that Cockle doesn’t go into any detail on Geralt’s role in Polaris, and if it’s true that a script hasn’t made its way to him, he couldn’t spill the beans if he tried. Still, the fact that Geralt has some role in the game could indicate that his adopted daughter and protégé Ciri could be the one wielding the Witchers’ iconic twin swords next time around. Since Geralt raises and trains Ciri, it makes sense that he could return for more of the same in a Ciri-starring game, assuming that his role in the game is more than a cameo.
Even aside from Geralt’s role specifically, Ciri just makes a lot of sense as the next game’s protagonist. The Witcher 3 is a game essentially all about finding Ciri, who’s disappeared at its outset. That means a lot of players’ time is spent following Ciri’s story and getting to know her as a character. She’s even playable for a brief stint in The Witcher 3, which could be a sort of preview of the ways that she’ll feel to play as the protagonist in Polaris. Fans generally like Ciri already, and if Polaris starts with the assumption that most of its players have already experienced The Witcher 3, it can use the fact that most people already care about Ciri to its advantage.
Of course, CD Projekt Red could also do something unexpected and introduce an entirely new story for Polaris. Either way, we probably won’t know definitely which direction it’s going in for quite some time. Polaris was only officially announced in March, and during a June financial call, CD Projekt Red president Adam Kiciński told investors that the game is likely more than three years away, citing the time it will take to produce as the company’s first game developed in Unreal Engine 5.
So while we settle in for a long wait for the next Witcher game, we can at least take some comfort in knowing that everyone’s favorite gravelly-voiced monster hunter will be waiting for us when it’s finally released. In the meantime, there’s nothing stopping you from making your own Witcher adventures starring Ciri (or really anyone else you want) after CD Projekt Red launched its official modding tools for The Witcher 3 earlier this year.
