Summary
Whether the long wait will be worth it yet or not remains to be seen, but at leastThe Witcher 4has finally been revealed, via a trailer shown at the 2024 Game Awards ceremony. It has now been nearly a decade since the lastWitchergame was released, withCyberpunk 2077taking the bulk of CD Projekt Red’s attention off its beloved series during that gap of time. Nevertheless,The Witcher 4has, at the very least, shown its face, and a new face at that.
Geralt of Riviamight have been the face of theWitcherfor many years now, but Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, otherwise known as “Ciri,” is now taking up the mantle of lead protagonist inThe Witcher 4. It’s unclear whatThe Witcher 4’s gameplay and world will look like in comparison to its predecessors, but fans can at least expect an original story unlike any that has been told before, simply on account of Ciri’s new role in place of Geralt. WhileThe Witcher 4is likely to delve much deeper into Ciri’s character than any installment before it, it arguably shouldn’t act as both the beginning and conclusion of her tale, and should instead allow her story to continue in future games.
The Witcher 4 Should Be the First of a Ciri Trilogy
The Witcher 4 Is the Start of a New Saga for the Series
Despite being titledThe Witcher 4, the next game in theWitcherseries is actually the start of an entirely new saga — more specifically, a new trilogy — for the franchise. Of course, this is fairly clear inThe Witcher 4’s choice to make Ciri its protagonist, effectively putting Geralt of Rivia down for a well-deserved rest, despite the fact that he will still appear in the game to some degree. As such, it’s likely there may be remnants of the story told over the last few games inThe Witcher 4, but it may very well choose to avoid going back in time and instead focus on forging its own path for the time being.
WhileThe Witcher 4is likely to delve much deeper into Ciri’s character than any installment before it, it arguably shouldn’t act as both the beginning and conclusion of her tale, and should instead allow her story to continue in future games.
Previously referred to as “Polaris,“The Witcher 4was confirmed a few years ago by CD Projekt Red to be the start of abrand-new saga for theWitcherseries, with the developer stating that two more AAAWitchergames would follow the next title, which was unknowinglyThe Witcher 4at the time. In light of that, whatever their official names end up being,The Witcher 5andThe Witcher 6are currently on the horizon for the franchise, but the question remains of whether the next two games in the series will feature Ciri as their protagonist — and they arguably should.
Unlike Geralt, who has now had plenty of time in the spotlight, to the point of becoming the face ofThe Witcher, Ciri has really only hadThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntserve as her stage, despite the fact that she was introduced to the series much earlier than that through other means. Players get to play as Ciri very briefly duringThe Witcher 3’s story, and while her character is explored more deeply in the third installment than any previous entry, she has still been largely kept within the shadow of Geralt.The Witcher 4, however, is now her time to shine as its lead character and protagonist.
Needless to say,Ciri deserves the lead roleshe’s now been given inThe Witcher 5andThe Witcher 6as well, in the same way that Geralt got his own trilogy. There may be some potential there for Ciri to be replaced by another Witcher in the next game or the one after that, or for Geralt to even step back onto center stage for one reason or another, but that really shouldn’t happen. Ciri proved inThe Witcher 3that she has some compelling layers to her character, and those layers may only be fully fleshed out through an entire trilogy.
