Old, resurfaced Tweets byThe Witcher 4developer CD Projekt Red reveal that the upcoming project wasn’t always labeled as a direct sequel. The Polish developer revealed the first details of itsnext project afterCyberpunk 2077in a dramatic narrative trailer during The Game Awards last night, leading players to speculate on everything from potential release windows to the identity of its protagonist (yes, that was Ciri). But lest players forget, the nextWitchergame was actually announced a long time ago, in a far more cryptic manner that implied it might not have been a direct sequel.
The Witcher 4was originally announced in a promotional image posted on social media, depicting what looks like an amulet of representing a Witcher school (pictured below). It was originally captioned, “A new saga begins.” On that occasion,CDPR’s PR DirectorRadek Grabowskiposted on X (then called Twitter) to remind fans not to call the upcoming gameThe Wticher 4, as that wasn’t what it had announced.
CDPR’s full press release from that day made it clear: this was “the first official confirmation of a new game in The Witcher series,” not the announcement ofThe Witcher 4. But last night,we all saw a trailer that ended with a title card reading “The Witcher 4,“and Grabowski walked his initial clarification back in the quote Tweet above.
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But beyond the title,it doesn’t seem like anything’s actually changed aboutThe Witcher. The original reveal forThe Witcher 4shows a medallion, decidedly feline, but definitely different from the School of the Cat one Ciri wears inThe Witcher 3(see above). The amulet has longer tufts of fur extending from its chin, and more upright ears compared to the Cat School medallion’s folded back ones.
This led many players to speculate thatthe nextWitchergame would focus on a new schoolnever before seen in canon,perhaps the School of the Lynx, andperhaps featuring an all-new cast of characters. The former theory was seemingly confirmed by CDPR’s Global Community DirectorMarcin Momot.
But if you look very closely at the trailer, you’ll notice thatCiri is wearing a similar amulet to the one pictured in the original promo, not the cat one she’s typically known for. So, other than the actual name of the game, it doesn’t seem like this was a last-minute rewrite. CDPR probably wanted to keep its options open in those early days - it may always have known it was going to make a Ciri-focused spinoff, and simply left the title blank until it decided on something final.
Although some fans have attempted to fill in the gaps on the School of the Lynx, keep in mind thatthere’s no canon material on that aspect ofWitcherlore(yet).
The real question iswhat this means forThe Witcher 4’s story. Ciri may discover or even establish a new Witcher school in the sequel, expanding on the lore more than the first three games have already done. Only time will tell whether that theory’s true, though.
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Again, I doubt anything about the-game-formerly-not-known-asThe Witcher 4has fundamentally changed since its initial announcement. My best guess is thatCDPR might have originally been considering a different title, but ultimately settled onThe Witcher 4because it’s simple and recognizable.
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The total shift in perspective from Geralt to Ciri does mark the beginning of a new saga, so it would justify the switch to a hyphenated title - something likeThe Witcher: Ciriwould make perfect sense. But with the wealth ofWitchercontent available out there - books, TV shows, comics, et cetera - that might get confusing. Simply following the games' established naming convention and calling itThe Witcher 4is the easiest way to ensure that every single fan knows exactly what it is the moment they hear of it, even if it’s not a direct sequel.
