Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's loss is The Witcher 4's gain as CD Projekt Red picks up the lead gameplay designer behind one of the best parts of the action RPG

From one excellent open-world RPG to (hopefully) another, the lead gameplay designer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's hardcore mode has joined CD Projekt Red to work as a senior quest designer on The Witcher 4.

Karel Kolmann is probably best known for being the devilish mind behind the game's hardcore mode, though he also created intricate features such as the criminality system, which dictates how NPCs react to you based on your actions.

While Kolmann hasn't revealed which Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 quests he worked on, according to his LinkedIn, he designed 11 of these missions, including all of the dialogue and cutscenes, as well as completely scripting two of them. As of May this year, the game has sold more than three million copies, and as with many open-world RPGs, the side quests are considered one of the best parts of the experience.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is still in development with a new DLC questline, Mysteria Ecclesiae, scheduled to be released before the end of the year. Despite this, as spotted by The Gamer, Kolmann has left Warhorse Studios after eight years, to work on another open-world action RPG that has had the industry excited since 2022. Little is still known about The Witcher 4 except that it will be the first in a new trilogy for the series, and Geralt's adopted daughter Ciri will take the helm as the game's protagonist.

The Witcher 4's release is still a long way off. As reported by PC Gamer, in a financial earnings call, chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz said that the game would "not be launched" before the end of 2026. We might have to wait another two years, but the team's latest recruit is sure to give us some spicy questlines.

The Witcher author says "there is no cooperation at all between me and the games," and he won't play The Witcher 4 because "it's not an entertainment for me."