Doug Cockle the voice actor for Geralt in The Witcher, The Witcher 2, and The Witcher 3 confirmed that The Witcher 4 “won’t focus on Geralt.”
A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), CD Projekt Red
During an appearance on the Fall Damage YouTube channel Cockle stated, “Witcher 4 has been announced. I can’t say anything about it. What we know is that Geralt will be part of the game, We just don’t know how much.”
He added, “And the game won’t focus on Geralt. So it’s not about him this time. We don’t know who it’s about. I’m excited to find out. I want to know. I have not seen any script yet. I couldn’t tell you if I did. This is the thing. I could be lying through my teeth, but I’m not. Or am I?”
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CD Projekt Red announced a new Witcher saga, which many gamers are describing as Witcher 4, back in March. Global PR Director for CD Projekt Red Radek Grabowski shared to X in March 2022, “New Witcher Saga Announced. CD PROJEKT RED Begins Development on Unreal Engine 5 as Part of a Strategic Partnership with Epic Games.”
⚔️ New Witcher Saga Announced. CD PROJEKT RED Begins Development on Unreal Engine 5 as Part of a Strategic Partnership with Epic Games. ⚔️ Full press release here: https://t.co/z9GPa75sxy pic.twitter.com/a27M5Mg1Kf
— Radek (@gamebowski) March 21, 2022
He also clarified that the first game in this new saga was not announced as The Witcher 4. He wrote, “What we have NOT announced today: – A game called The Witcher 4. – A game exclusive to one storefront. It was our initial confirmation of a new saga in The Witcher franchise. Right now, we are not discussing any specifics in terms or story, characters, mechanics, or plot details.”
What we have NOT announced today:
– A game called The Witcher 4.
– A game exclusive to one storefront.
It was our initial confirmation of a new saga in The Witcher franchise. Right now, we are not discussing any specifics in terms or story, characters, mechanics, or plot details.— Radek (@gamebowski) March 21, 2022
In October 2022, CD Projekt Red revealed that this new Witcher saga was being called Polaris internally.
The company shared on X, “Polaris is a codename for the next installment in The Witcher series of games, which we recently announced was in pre-production. It is the beginning of a new saga: we aim to release two more Witcher games after Polaris, creating a new AAA RPG trilogy.”
Polaris is a codename for the next installment in The Witcher series of games, which we recently announced was in pre-production. It is the beginning of a new saga: we aim to release two more Witcher games after Polaris, creating a new AAA RPG trilogy. pic.twitter.com/898Ez6Yk79
— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) October 4, 2022
The company’s CEO Adam Kiciński also shared in a Q&A with investors in 2022 that the first game in this new saga would take longer than three years to develop. He noted, “for Polaris, we are preparing technologies. This is the first project to be released on the new engine, Unreal 5. There is a need of some extra work making this technology viable for huge, open-world, story-driven games. So for this project, for sure, we need some extra effort to deliver. The second and the third installments should go smoother as technology will be better and the tools and the pipelines will be there, but this is all I can say for now.”
When asked a follow-up on if it would take longer than three years to develop, Kiciński stated, “Yes it is.”
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In a Q&A with Stockwartch in March 2024, CD Projekt Red’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Piotr Nielubowicz revealed that the company has around 400 developers working on the game.
He said, “Currently, about 400 developers are working on the game, with the support of about 50 people from the so-called shared services. The target number of people involved in the project should be slightly higher than the current one.”
A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), CD Projekt Red
What do you make of Cockle confirming that the first game in this new saga will not focus on Geralt?
