Summary
Ciri will be the protagonist ofThe Witcher 4, CD Projekt Red has confirmed. This revelation was part of the game’s first cinematic trailer, which premiered atThe Game Awards 2024.
CDPR first confirmed thatThe Witcher 4was in developmentin March 2022, although it didn’t attach an official title to the game. Instead, it merely referenced it by its codename,Project Polaris, a moniker that it has used ever since—until today.
The company at last mentioned the words “The Witcher 4” on December 12, as part of the game’s world premiere trailer that debuted at the2024 edition of The Game Awards. With a runtime of over six minutes, the newly shared promo serves as a meticulous introduction to the upcoming RPG’s setting. It also confirms its protagonist, Ciri, Geralt’s adopted daughter who played a pivotal role inThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Ciri Is a Full-Fledged Monster Hunter in The Witcher 4
The video shows an older, more experienced Ciri, who now seems to be a full-fledged monster hunter. As such, the trailer seeminglyestablishes one particularThe Witcher 3ending as canon. Ciri is seen taking on a witcher contract in a rural village terrorized by a not-too-friendly monster hungry for ritual sacrifice, with her task ending about as well as one would expect from a story penned by CDPR, a studio that’s not too keen on giving quests happy endings. Reflecting on the TGA 2024 trailer, game director Sebastian Kalemba confirmed that Ciri will be “the heart of the story” in the upcoming RPG.
The Witcher 4 World Premiere Trailer Was Likely Pre-Rendered On Nvidia RTX 5090
In a press release accompanying the newly debuted trailer, CDPR confirmed the obvious: the TGA 2024 video was pre-rendered. This was accomplished using a custom build of Unreal Engine 5, the company’sengine of choice for the fourthThe Witchergame. The developer also revealed that the rendering process utilized an unannounced Nvidia RTX GPU, likely the widely rumored RTX 5090, which is expected to be the crown jewel of the upcoming RTX 50 Series. Nvidia’s upcoming lineup of graphics cards is expected to be officially announced at the next edition of CES, which kicks off on July 24, 2025. The announcement itself might happen a bit earlier, as CES exhibitors often outline their show lineups a day before the event.
The Witcher 4is still waiting for an official release date. While a recent GOG listing and actor’s CV pointed to a late 2025 launch, that’s likely a placeholder time frame, not least because CDPR has just confirmed that the game only entered full production in November 2024. Consequently,The Witcher 4may not be ready to hit the store shelves until 2027.
The Witcher
The Witcher is a 3D action RPG series developed by CD Projekt Red featuring the exploits of Geralt of Rivia. Steeped in fantasy, The Witcher series is based on the books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
