[GameSpot] - Fans React To Witcher 4 Announcement And Speculate About Ciri's Involvement

[343iBot]

Out of nowhere, CD Projekt Red started the week off by announcing that development is officially underway on the next entry in The Witcher saga. The Polish studio released a single teaser image, and that was enough to incite conversations and speculation online as to what the Witcher 4, or whatever it's called, will involve.

One of the main pieces of speculation around the new Witcher game is what that medallion is. Some people believe the medallion shown in the teaser represents the School of the Cat. Ciri from The Witcher 3 wears this medallion, though she formally trained at the School of the Wolf. Still, there are some who believe Ciri might take on a larger role in the next game, or perhaps be the main playable character. That remains to be seen, but CD Projekt Red previously teased that it wants tell more Ciri-centric stories.

" A New Saga Begins"

In 2020, CD Projekt writer Jakub Szamałek was asked by VG247 if the studio has considered making Ciri the main character of a new Witcher game. Szamałek replied, "Interesting question. Would you like to play a game with Ciri as a lead character?"

"I regret we didn't get to explore Ciri's past a bit more," he explained of Ciri's story in The Witcher 3. "She's such an amazingly rich and complex character. Due to obvious reasons--well, she's pretty much gone for two thirds of the game--she didn't get quite as much screen time as we writers would have liked. But hey, maybe it's something we’ll get to get back to in the future."

Some people initially thought the medallion shown in the teaser art was the School of the Cat medallion. The medallion is hidden in part by snow, but even with some elements obscured, many people on Reddit have pointed out that it is likely not the School of the Cat medallion.

Then what is the medallion? That's anyone's guess for now. It certainly looks different than the School of the Wolf medallion and doesn't quite match up with the School of the Cat medallion, at least not in the artwork that has been made available thus far. If it's neither of those, other fans have discussed how they'd like to see the next Witcher game embrace an entirely new story with new characters. There is also the matter of the snow surrounding the medallion and what that might mean, if anything.

The new Witcher game announcement came with the tagline, "A New Saga Begins," which suggests this will not be a continuation of Geralt's story but instead something new. While The Witcher 3 wrapped up Geralt's story, that doesn't necessarily mean he won't show up in the next Witcher game. Others have suggested it would be fun to see Geralt make a cameo in the next Witcher game.

CD Projekt Red has not announced a release date or a projection of a release date for the new Witcher game, but it's likely still a long way off. The studio continues to work on Cyberpunk 2077's ongoing improvements and the first expansion.

For the new Witcher game, CD Projekt Red is entering a "strategic partnership" with Epic Games to use the Fortnite studio's Unreal Engine 5. This is a big break from tradition, as CD Projekt previously used its own REDEngine for The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077.

CD Projekt's deal with Epic also includes a provision whereby developers from the Polish studio will collaborate with Epic's engineers to help make Unreal Engine 5 the best engine it can be for open-world games. Despite the deal with Epic, the new Witcher game will not be exclusive to the Epic Games Store.

The Witcher series isn't the only big-time franchise set for a return. Rockstar Games also recently announced that Grand Theft Auto 6 is now in the works, while Ubisoft recently confirmed that Splinter Cell is finally coming back in a way.

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