The Recreation Awards 2024 opened with the long-awaited first trailer for The Witcher 4. The sequel to the sport that solidified CD Projekt Crimson as a top-tier studio is now in full manufacturing, telling the story of Ciri, the second protagonist from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
VGC just lately spoke to narrative director Phillipp Weber and government producer Małgorzata Mitręga in regards to the return of the franchise, what classes had been realized from Cyberpunk 2077, and their plans to raise the RPG area in the identical approach Witcher 3 did a decade in the past.
However first, we wished to debate a part of the response to The Recreation Awards reveal trailer that has left a considerably bitter notice on discussions surrounding the sport. Whereas thousands and thousands of followers have watched the trailer and on the time of writing and it’s acquired over 250,000 likes on YouTube, not all of the response was constructive.
Whereas there are excessive opinions on the fringes of gaming circles making bad-intentioned photoshops of Ciri, demanding she’s injected with extra intercourse attraction and robbed of any resemblance to an actual human, there are different, real Witcher followers who’re disenchanted that they received’t be enjoying as Geralt this time round.
“I feel we positively knew it might be controversial for some folks due to course, within the earlier three Witcher video games Geralt was the protagonist and I feel everybody actually liked enjoying as Geralt,” mentioned Weber.
“I actually liked enjoying as Geralt, so I feel we’re conscious that if some folks assume proper now that they’d nonetheless want to be Geralt, I do assume that’s a reputable concern, so if that is the place that concern is coming from, that’s legitimate.”
The official add of the Witcher 4 trailer at the moment has 3.7 million views. 250K folks have “appreciated” the video on YouTube, with 25K leaving “dislike” scores on the trailer.
“The most effective factor that we will do, and I feel that is actually our aim, is to show that with Ciri, we will do plenty of fascinating issues so we will actually make it price it as a result of this choice to have Ciri as a protagonist wasn’t made yesterday, we began making this a really very long time in the past,” Weber continued.
“Ciri was already being arrange as a second protagonist within the Andrzej Sapkowski novels and because the second playable character in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so for us, it actually was the pure evolution of what we’ve already been making for therefore lengthy. Additionally for individuals who actually love Geralt, it lets us honour the ending that Geralt had in The Witcher 3 and in Blood and Wine.”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt featured a number of playable sequences as Ciri. When CD Projekt first confirmed that it was engaged on a brand new entry within the franchise, it did so by teasing a brand new wolf medallion, completely different to the one worn by Geralt. It ought to have come as a shock to little that she’d lead the following entry.
“The most effective factor that we will do, and I feel that is actually our aim, is to show that with Ciri, we will do plenty of fascinating issues”
“On the identical time, in fact, with Ciri being firstly of her journey as a Witcher, it additionally lets us inform new tales of what it means to turn out to be a Witcher,” Weber continued. “So, for these people who find themselves frightened proper now, if that comes from a spot of ardour, I wish to say I feel the following time we present the sport, our aim is to indicate and show that Ciri could be a worthy protagonist for The Witcher 4.”
Government producer Małgorzata Mitręga added: “We’re additionally overwhelmed by so many individuals liking the selection, being excited for it, understanding the place it got here from. Additionally really doing slightly little bit of our job, the group itself is doing the reason on why it’s the proper alternative.
“Everybody has the suitable to have an opinion, and we do consider it comes from the eagerness for our video games and I feel the perfect reply for that would be the sport itself when the sport is launched.”
Mitręga joined CD Projekt to work on Cyberpunk 2077, following a decade at Techland engaged on the Dying Gentle franchise. Whereas the redemption story for CD Projekt’s different franchise is exceptional, when The Witcher 4 launches, few will be capable of neglect the prerelease hype and spectacular fall that surrounded Cyberpunk 2077.
This time, CD Projekt says it’s being far more deliberate about what it exhibits from The Witcher 4 and when. “There have been plenty of classes,” mentioned Mitręga. “How will we work inside the group? How will we talk truthfully, how do now we have transparency.”
Regardless of the reveal trailer, it doesn’t appear probably we’ll see extra of The Witcher 4 quickly. “We aren’t but beginning the advertising and marketing marketing campaign. We wish to remind our followers that we’re coming again with The Witcher, we additionally wish to introduce it to the brand new viewers.
“There have been plenty of classes [from Cyberpunk 2077]. How will we work inside the group? How will we talk truthfully, how do now we have transparency.”
“That is only a bit, now we have extra plans for the longer term, the whole take the lesson on beginning the actual marketing campaign a lot nearer to launch when every thing is settled, and I feel that Phantom Liberty has proven properly the path of change that we’re going and has labored nicely.”
That “bit” left us excited to see extra. The trailer, which teased that it was being rendered on an “unannounced Nvidia GPU,” set imaginations operating wild. CDPR followers have had 5 stable years of teases and trailers for Evening Metropolis-tinged content material, making a return to the darkish world of The Witcher all of the extra of a compelling tone change.
“I feel it’s a part of the custom of The Witcher that we tackled actually tough themes,” Weber mused, after we requested in regards to the group’s storytelling ambitions for The Witcher 4. “We by no means wish to give simple solutions. We at all times wish to increase tough questions, and that additionally means tackling tough stuff, but in addition tackling it with care.”
The Witcher 3’s aspect quests had been so extremely well-received because of their capability to flex between one thing light-hearted like a swashbuckling journey or Geralt endlessly chasing the women to a lot heavier themes. Every thing felt grounded in the identical universe and tied to the identical characters. A groundedness the group needs to duplicate.
“The significance of our tales is that they’re at all times linked to the world,” mentioned Mitręga. “It’s not similar to going, ‘oh, that is the issue that we wish to sort out,’ no, it feeds into the general story, to the world, to the area’s issues, so we at all times put these there for the context of the sport.”
For some, The Witcher 4 shall be their introduction to the franchise. “There are numerous folks that is perhaps able to play Witcher 4 as soon as it comes out that had been youngsters when The Witcher 3 was being made,” Weber mentioned with a smile.
“I feel it’s a part of the custom of The Witcher that we tackled actually tough themes. We by no means wish to give simple solutions. We at all times wish to increase tough questions”
CD Projekt is conscious of the duty that faces it, nevertheless it’s additionally trying ahead to what’s largely a contemporary begin with Witcher 4, which it considers the start line of its latest saga. The problem, it tells us, is balancing introducing these new gamers whereas respecting legacy followers.
“We wish to be certain that when The Witcher 4 releases, it is a sport {that a} fully new viewers can take pleasure in, however a the identical time, we’re, in fact, additionally conscious… and that is why we name the sport The Witcher 4, that it is a sequel to the three earlier video games,” mentioned Weber.
“You may relaxation assured that we take this critically, it is a sequel to these experiences absolutely, and naturally that additionally signifies that we do respect the tales and the characters that had been launched in these video games earlier than, we wish to marry these two issues.”
Expectations for CD Projekt couldn’t be increased. Since coming into the rarified air on the prime desk of sport growth with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, each transfer made by the studio has been studied by followers. That fan devotion is a part of the explanation Cyberpunk’s disappointing launch felt so private to many. The Witcher 4 now lives with the expectation of being the sequel to an extremely beloved RPG, and CD Projekt’s likelihood at proving it may nonetheless ship at launch.
“We’re all gamers,” mentioned Mitręga. “We’re doing it for our gamers, we predict on a regular basis in regards to the expertise, what the world wants and what we wish to inform the world. We’re making the sport that we as followers of the sequence would wish to play.
“We wish to make a extremely good story, we’re not fascinated by the response, now we have a message we wish to inform, we wish to contact the participant and inform them one thing essential and keep there with them. On the enterprise aspect, we do take into consideration the viewers we’re reaching; we test the market and viewers, however relating to the group, we’re principally centered on the aim of the sport being delivered.”
“We’re all gamers. We’re doing it for our gamers, we predict on a regular basis in regards to the expertise, what the world wants and what we wish to inform the world.”
Weber nods in settlement, “We don’t wish to break these core qualities that we established within the earlier three Witcher video games, however we do wish to enhance in different areas the place we actually really feel prefer it’s one thing the place we will develop.”
“The open world doesn’t essentially should be larger and greater and greater, however the open world could be deeper and extra immersive, extra systematic. I feel that’s one thing that’s actually thrilling to have a look at.”
In 2024, budgets for video games of The Witcher 4’s measurement continued to balloon, one thing the group at CD Projekt is conscious of. The group can also be acutely aware of the truth that they don’t have infinite time to work on the sport, and now that they’ve proven it, the stress from followers to see increasingly, and play it as quickly as they’ll will solely develop.
“I’d say making a function for the sport shouldn’t be about making the perfect function ever, its about making the perfect function within the time you’ve got,” laughs Mitręga. “It’s extra in regards to the ambition of getting actually advanced and immersive issues happening and never essentially the precise measurement. In fact, it’s a single-player, open-world motion RPG; it’s going to be huge.”
On that notice, we wished to understand how the group was approaching The Witcher 4 by way of scale. Open-world RPGs haven’t solely gotten bigger by way of budgets, they’ve ballooned in content material prior to now decade, too. Maps stuffed with icons are a dream for some followers, however for others, there are merely not sufficient hours within the day to play one thing that feels limitless.
For Weber, he needs to give attention to the standard of the content material relatively than scale for the sake of scale. “We at all times say that no matter we will we wish to have or not it’s significant and it means it may be solely a lot that’s really significant and fascinating. As soon as we must begin repeating stuff I feel that’s when it’s too huge.”
