CDPR says Ciri's face in the new Witcher 4 trailer is "a direct copy of The Witcher 3 model" despite "two subtle changes"

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Ciri's face in the new Witcher 4 trailer is a "direct copy of The Witcher 3 model" and the same one used in the Witcher 4 reveal trailer from the 2024 Game Awards.

In case you missed it, CDPR debuted a gorgeous cinematic trailer and a tantalizing tech demo for The Witcher 4 at today's Epic Games State of Unreal showcase, and now that you know that, you should totally go watch both of them and then come back and read this afterward.

The Witcher 4 wouldn't be a modern RPG if it didn't have fans examining its characters' faces through a microscope trying to find minute changes so they can complain about them on social media, and sure enough, people online were quick to point out that Ciri looks slightly different in the new footage than she did back in December.

Well, a CDPR spokesperson has confirmed to Kotaku that it's the same Ciri – not just from the 2024 trailer, but also from The Witcher 3, despite two subtle changes, one of which has already been edited out of the new trailer.

"It's the same character model used in the [2024] trailer," the spokesperson said. "Ciri's face is a direct copy of The Witcher 3 model, adapted to work with the latest MetaHuman technology. Two subtle changes were made to improve animation quality: slightly raised eyebrows, and a more relaxed eye area – the latter was present in the trailer but has since been removed."

Elsewhere in the new trailer and tech demo is a look at the fabled manticores that were reportedly cut from The Witcher 3, footage of Ciri strolling through a bustling city, and a great view of the game's gorgeous open world — all of which is, to me, much more interesting than "slightly raised eyebrows."

The Witcher 4 setting could be the never-before-seen region of Kovir, as Ciri journeys to the far north in CD Projekt's new tech demo