CD Projekt Red has all but confirmed that a new Witcher game will soon be entering production. They have confirmed that the new game will enter the planning stage with a small team as soon as their upcoming title Cyberpunk 2077 has shipped. CD Projekt Red were very clear that the Blood and Wine expansion marked the end of Geralt’s story. The new game has only been confirmed as being based in The Witcher’s fictional universe. The chances of this new title being The Witcher 4 is therefore remote to zero. So where else could the franchise go? I can see two obvious options.
The existing game trilogy started after the end of the storyline in the books, creating a whole new set of adventures for Geralt. The recent Netflix series following the storyline of the first two Witcher books, both collections of short stories rather than the novel series proper, proved very popular. CD Projekt Red have confirmed that their previously rocky relationship with the author of the novels, Andrzej Sapkowski has been mended which could pave the way for a series of games following the storyline of the books. A sort of prequel, maybe, to the current games?
The second option could be a game set in the same world following another Witcher. This could be one already featured in the books or the existing games. A further, rather exciting option, could be a new Witcher, perhaps one which can be created by the player themselves. However, character customisation could limit the scope of their storytelling so I, personally, feel that a customisable character is unlikely. The new games may not even follow a Witcher but could follow another character from the games or novels.
What is confirmed is that the game is due to enter planning after the shipping of Cyberpunk 2077. That it will be single player game set in the universe of The Witcher and that production will take about four years to complete, so don’t get ready to rush to the shops just yet. Cyberpunk 2077 is due to release in September this year and CD Project Red have confirmed they will have a large team producing DLC for the title for an extended period after release. It may be a long wait but the promise of a new Witcher game will surely lead to many happy fans.
