The Witcher 4 is the most immersive and ambitious one of the video game series, and Ciri was always destined to be the next Witcher, says CDPR executive producer. Read on to find out more about Ciri’s rise and Geralt’s retirement.
Most Immersive Witcher Title Yet
Ciri’s Destiny From The Very Beginning
CD Projekt Red (CDPR) is aiming for the skies with The Witcher 4, calling the upcoming title as "the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date," as shared by executive producer Małgorzata Mitręga in an interview with GamesRadar+. "We definitely want to raise the bar with every video game that we create. This is what we did with Cyberpunk 2077 after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and we want to apply all of the lessons learned from both of these experiences and incorporate them into The Witcher 4," added game director Sebastian Kalemba.
The newest title in the acclaimed Witcher video game franchise will feature Ciri, Geralt of Rivia’s adopted daughter who has seemingly taken up her father’s mantle as the esteemed Witcher, as shown in the grand cinematic trailer revealed during The Game Awards. And with how the video game series went, that was what CDPR was planning all along. Story director Tomasz Marchewka shared that "From the very beginning we knew it had to be Ciri - she's a very complex character, and there is so much to be told about here."
However, the Ciri from the previous installment that all fans know and love will be a little nerfed this time around. At the end of The Witcher 3, Ciri was "totally overpowered," but her skillset in the trailer showed that perhaps a few of her Witcher senses have dulled. But Mitręga refused to disclose any more—only that"something totally happened in-between." Kalemba also offered his perspective, assuring fans that they will provide a clear answer in time—in game, to be more precise. "We cannot tell you exactly how. But we can tell you just, like, believe us: that was one of the things, or first things, that we were solving, to make sure—the way we develop here, we do not leave anything without a clear answer."
Nevertheless, she will still very much embody as much of Geralt as they possibly could. Mitręga chimed in, "She's faster, more agile—but you can still tell that she was raised by Geralt, right?"
Time For Geralt To Retire—No, Really
With Ciri donning the title of the Witcher in the upcoming game, Geralt of Rivia should now live out the rest of his days in peace—he deserves it for being over fifty. After all, he’s revealed to already have been 61 years old in The Witcher 3, according to the novel series’ author, Andrzej Sapkowski.
In Sapkowski’s newest book, Rozdroże kruków (Raven’s Crossing or Crossing of the Ravens in English), readers found out that Geralt was confirmed to be born in 1211. This puts him at 59 years old during the events of the first Witcher game, followed by the aforementioned The Witcher 3 at 61 years old, then at 64 years old by the end of The Witcher 3’s DLC, Blood and Wine. By the time The Witcher 4 takes place, this would most likely put him in his seventies or almost pushing eighty, depending on the period of the timeskip.
This isn’t unusual as Witcher lore states that Witchers are able to live until a hundred years old—if they can get to 100 before getting killed in action, that is. However, many fans on social media were astonished by the news, after previously thinking that Geralt is around 90 years old.
Source:
CDPR Interview with GamesRadar+
CDPR Game Director Interview with Eurogamer
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