The Witcher trilogy is set to explore a new saga. Just the thought of that alone is exciting, but it also promises a fresh beginning for the dark fantasy series that has my imagination running wild. The Witcher Polaris – the codename for what will be The Witcher 4 in all but name – will kick off The Witcher Trilogy, which was among a plethora of upcoming CD Projekt games recently highlighted in an investor presentation.
Even though there are only a few less-than-concrete details about the direction of the next installment out there, just knowing a whole trilogy is in the pipeline opens up a world of possibilities. The first three games follow the story of Geralt of Rivia, with each iteration building on the last across generations and console platforms. But now, with the move to another saga on Unreal Engine 5, it very much feels like we're about to step into what is essentially a new era for the series, and it's one I can't wait to experience.
New generation
The Witcher 3 took us to a rich, open-world setting ripe for discovery, with side quests that were as engrossing as the core story. Widely regarded as one of the best RPGs around, Geralt's last adventure is undoubtedly a tough act to follow. But what's most exciting about the prospect of a new saga is the chance to step into someone else's shoes and gain a fresh perspective in The Witcher universe. We don't yet know what role we'll have, or whether it will be the same across all three games.
It's worth noting the closing moments of The Witcher 3 did hint that Geralt's companion Ciri may lead the next installment as the main character. Interestingly, debates surrounding Ciri's involvement recently resurfaced thanks to a teaser image CD Projekt Red put out for The Witcher 4 showing a medallion. The studio then confirmed that said medallion belongs to the School of the Lynx, which largely features in fanfiction and footnotes in The Witcher universe. Whether the new saga follows Ciri remains to be seen, but regardless of what role we'll be playing, the mere thought of diving into a new story alone is exciting.
The Witcher 3 is also undeniably beautiful visually, with detailed character designs and landscapes. Now that we're in a new generation with the Xbox Series X and S and PS5, it's hard not to ponder what the new trio might look like – with The Witcher trilogy no doubt leveraging the capabilities of the latest hardware. CD Projekt also previously revealed the new Witcher games will be developed on Unreal Engine 5 and not its proprietary REDengine. Studio CTO, Pawl Zawodny, said that Unreal Engine 5's shift towards open-world support caught the attention of the studio, and from what we've seen of upcoming Unreal 5 games, it very much adds to the feeling that we're set to experience an exciting new era of Witcher games.
Looking ahead
The only sticking point, though, is the six-year timeframe the studio is planning to deliver The Witcher trilogy in. In the investor call, president Adam Kicinski said CD Projekt Red "aim to deliver [the three games] over a six-year period, starting with the release of Polaris." Fans are already starting to debate whether such a short timeline for the release of the whole trilogy is actually a good thing. It's certainly a very ambitious goal, but it's hard not to have some concerns about such a claim – not least with regards to the workload it will inevitably entail, and the obvious unsustainability of crunch culture should deadlines mount up.
As games get bigger and more complex, they naturally demand more development time. Kicinski acknowledged the "bold statement" the studio is making about "three large-scale productions" releasing in just six years, but expressed that they have a plan in place to achieve it. "Both the second and third installments will, in technological terms, benefit from the groundwork laid during the development of Polaris. In this way we aim to smoothen the development process while at the same staying creatively ambitious." Of course, we don't yet know just how expansive each entry in the trilogy will be, but as AAA RPGs that are said to be "large-scale productions", The Witcher 3, and, of course, Cyberpunk 2077, have set very specific expectations among this studio's fans in that regard.
It's still early days, but how The Witcher trilogy plays out from here remains might be as exciting as the virtual plains it'll transport us to. From what role we'll be playing, to how the new saga that will unfold and how big each entry will be in terms of scale, it'll be interesting to see just where a new generation of The Witcher games leads us. And with other projects in the same universe on the horizon, such as a new story-driven RPG, The Witcher Canis Majoris, as well as The Witcher Sirius, another separate adventure from developer The Molasses Flood, there's definitely loads to discuss in the the world of The Witcher in the years ahead.
What could CD Projekt's codenames tell us about the new Witcher games?
