The Witcher 4: What We Know So Far

The Witcher 4 is inching ever closer. CD Projekt RED just revealed its next open-world RPG, the first installment in a new Witcher saga that's set to star Ciri as she begins her journey as a monster hunter on the Continent. A gorgeous Unreal Engine 5 cinematic trailer showcased the look, feel, and vibe of the world CDPR is striving to create in its new Witcher game, a sprawling single-player epic that is charting a future for the franchise without Geralt at the helm. As something ends, something begins – the studio striving to deliver "the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date."

Witcher 4: Release Date and Platforms

With no Witcher 4 release date in sight, there's a chance we will be waiting for years for new updates – CDPR is known to take its time and only gradually tease out information. So what you'll find below is all of the latest The Witcher 4 news, including the first details on the world and story and the reason for Ciri taking the lead. Here's what I will say: The Witcher 4 is instantly one of the most anticipated upcoming video games on the calendar, and one that is striving to upend the standards set by the best RPGs. So keep on reading to find everything we know so far about The Witcher 4.

The Witcher 4 Game Experience

The Witcher 4 gameplay experience is going to be familiar if you played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with some notable differences. While you'll be returning to the Continent, CDPR is shooting for a more brutal dark-fantasy world, with Ciri taking the lead as she tries to walk the witcher's path as the old world crumbles around her. The studio has already confirmed that The Witcher 4 will be a single-player RPG set in an open-world, albeit one where you have more scope to make choices and live with the consequences.

Main Character: Ciri

Ciri is a very different character to Geralt, more open to embracing the world around her – part of her struggle in this new adventure will be not only in grappling with ancient nightmares, but the evil which lurks in the people struggling to survive this land. Still, at the heart of it all is the witcher – a mutated warrior skilled in combat and alchemy, slaying monsters which threaten people for a price; only now you'll be able to do it with new combat proficiencies, all of it enhanced with Ciri's ability to deftly wield magic.

The Witcher 4: Combat

In The Witcher 4 you take control of Ciri, not a seasoned veteran but a character just starting down the witcher's path. That'll be reflected in combat encounters in The Witcher 4, where Ciri may not always start with the upper hand in encounters but always have the capacity to gain the upper hand by striking at the opportune moment. You can get a sense of this from the first Witcher 4 trailer, particularly in how the character wields magic (something not typically seen in other witchers out there in the wilds).

The Witcher 4: Story

CD Projekt RED is yet to reveal the full extent of The Witcher 4 story, but it has framed the new adventure nicely. In this single-player, open-world RPG you will take control of Ciri as the beginning of her monster-slaying career – just as she starts her journey down the witcher's path. "We're kicking off a brand new Witcher saga, this time with Ciri as the heart of the story," says Sebastian Kalemba, game director.

The Witcher 4: Open World

The Witcher 4 is going to be a single-player open-world RPG. Developer CD Projekt RED believes it'll be the "most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date." With a new protagonist comes a new open-world to explore, and the studio is already teasing out a far darker fantasy world. You should expect The Witcher 4 to offer up a world that is more dangerous and unpredictable than the one we experienced alongside Geralt.

The Witcher 4: Engine

CD Project RED is using Unreal Engine 5 to develop The Witcher 4. The studio spoke back in 2022 about its decision to shift away from the REDengine – which was used for The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 – but The Game Awards 2024 was our first opportunity to see the new vision for the series in action.

Geralt's Status Post-The Witcher 3

While The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had a number of ending variations, it's possible to now get a better sense of the canon ending for the Geralt series now that we know Ciri is walking the witcher's path. In The Witcher 3 the three core ending scenarios involved: Ciri becoming a witcher, becoming the Empress, or dying. We know that the third option is out of the picture, which is also the scenario which implied that Geralt dies in combat.

So instead we're likely looking at a world in which Geralt is still active in the Continent during The Witcher 4, albeit in a reduced capacity – his monster slaying days behind him as he grows older and wearier. Some of the ending variations in The Witcher 3 did, after all, have Geralt retiring in Kovir with Triss or eloping with Yennefer. So who knows, maybe we'll see some old, friendly faces.