The Witcher 4 focusing on Ciri has Geralt's voice actor "really excited" for the upcoming RPG, "mostly because of things that happen in the books"

Doug Cockle, the voice behind Geralt of Rivia since the very beginning, is psyched to see Ciri take over as the series' main character in The Witcher 4.

The pivot from Geralt to Ciri carries some pretty massive implications for the future of the Witcher series' story, world, and gameplay. While Geralt's adoptive daughter is an unambiguous hero in the same way as her father, story director Tomasz Marchewka said in December that she "has this side we haven’t explored much – grim, rebellious, and fierce. She’s familiar, but at the same time she’s fresh. And she’s simply a badass."

Not to mention, she's obviously a much younger Witcher, isn't fully mutated, and has different inherent magical abilities; and her role as the sole princess of Cintra and the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe will naturally impact the game's narrative.

For Cockle, Ciri's role as Geralt's successor is rooted in the book series on which the games are based.

"I'm really excited," he told IGN. "I think it's a really good move. I mean, I always thought that continuing the Saga, but shifting to Ciri would be a really, really interesting move for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because of things that happen in the books, which I don't want to give away because people, I want people to go read. So yeah, I think it's really exciting. I can't wait. I can't wait to see what they've done."

Although Geralt's time in the spotlight has come to an end, CDPR did confirm in December that he "will appear" in The Witcher 4. It's unclear how significant his role will be, but he'll once again be played by Cockle.

The Witcher 4 has "completely new regions" and monsters, including one the game director calls a "tricky, tricky bastard" that "plays with your own fears."