Witcher 4 devs addressed the controversy over making Ciri the protagonist while remaining unclear if current-gen consoles can run the game. Read on to learn more about these news updates.
Witcher 4 Devs Shared Some Insights About the Game’s Development
Addressed Controversy About Ciri’s Lead Role
The Witcher 4’s narrative director, Phillipp Weber, acknowledges that making Ciri the protagonist can be controversial in his interview with VGC on December 18.
The issue with Ciri stems from the expectation that Geralt will retain his role as protagonist of Witcher 4. "I think we definitely knew it could be controversial for some people because of course, in the previous three Witcher games Geralt was the protagonist and I think everyone really loved playing as Geralt," Weber said.
Though he shared the same attachment to Geralt and acknowledged that this is a "legitimate concern," he still believes that choosing Ciri is the right decision. "The best thing that we can do, and I think this is really our goal, is to prove that with Ciri, we can do a lot of interesting things so we can really make it worth it because this decision to have Ciri as a protagonist wasn’t made yesterday, we started making this a very long time ago," he explained.
Weber went on to justify this by explaining that Ciri was already being established as the second protagonist in the novel and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For them, it "was the natural evolution of what we’ve been making for so long," indicating that their decision was set a while back. Moreover, he asserted their choice allowed them to explore new avenues about the Witcher universe and Ciri herself after the last installment.
In the same interview, executive producer Małgorzata Mitręga assured fans that everything will be explained upon its release, hinting the game might reveal what happened to Geralt and other characters after the events of The Witcher 3. "Everyone has the right to have an opinion, and we do believe it comes from the passion for our games and I think the best answer for that will be the game itself when the game is released."
However, not all hope is lost as Geralt is returning to the game. Geralt’s VA revealed last August 2024 that Geralt will still appear in the game, albeit with a more minor role, paving the way for the new and returning characters for The Witcher 4. You can visit our article for more details about this news!
Moreover, you can also check out our The Witcher 4 article for more information and the latest updates!
Witcher 4 Technical Specifications Remain Unclear
Weber and Sebastian Kalemba, Witcher 4’s director, also had an interview with Eurogamer on December 18, where they discussed the capability of current-gen consoles to run the game. However, they did not provide specific details regarding this topic.
"Yes, we are working on a new engine right now, together with Epic's engineers, and there is a great synergy and a great collaboration between us,” Kalemba confirmed. “And currently we're working on Unreal Engine 5 and our custom build. And obviously, we want to support all the platforms - meaning PC, Xbox, and Sony, right? - but I cannot, right now, tell you more specifics regarding that."
Kalemba further mentioned that the reveal trailer is a "good benchmark" for what they hope to achieve in the game. This indicates that the trailer does not reflect the actual graphics of the game, but it might be somewhat similar to what they showed at the recent Game Awards.
Witcher 4 Devs New Approach
In another interview with Eurogamer last November 29, CDPR vice president of technology Charles Tremblay revealed that they changed their approach for The Witcher 4 development to avoid a similar scenario with Cyberpunk 2077’s launch.
To do this, they are developing games on hardware with the "lowest" specifications, like consoles, to ensure that future games will run across different platforms with minimal issues. Moreover, they are likely to launch the game on PC and consoles at the same time, however, it is not yet clear which consoles will be supported.
Though the devs remain hesitant to reveal which platforms can run Witcher 4, they assured fans they are working on supporting both low-spec consoles and powerful PC rigs to make the game available on various platforms.
