December 14, 2024, 8:49 am | Read time: 5 minutes

A little out of the blue, CD Projekt has released a six-minute first cinematic trailer for “The Witcher 4”. This not only confirms that the game will indeed have this title. It also finally answers another important question.

Ciri Will Be the New Main Character in “The Witcher 4”

Right at the beginning, the video answers one of the most frequently asked questions about the game, namely: Who will be the new main character? The first three parts – just like the original book and the Netflix series – focus on the Witcher Geralt of Riva. However, CD Projekt has retired him with Wild Hunt. Since then, there have been rumors that his adopted daughter Cirilla “Ciri” von Cintra is officially following in his footsteps. And the trailer has now confirmed this.

From the very first shots, you can tell that it is not Geralt who is sharpening his blade. In the crowd gathered for a celebration, a figure wielding two swords becomes visible. And Witcher fans, of course, know that this can only mean one thing: There’s a witcher here – or, in this case, a sorceress. This becomes clear when the hood falls. Although Ciri looks a little different than in The Witcher 3, her ash-blonde hair and the scar on her face make her easily recognizable.

Trailer Shows Ciri’s Abilities

The trailer then shows Ciri fighting a Kikimora-like monster – spider-like large creatures from Slavic legendary culture. She seemingly uses not only a witcher’s potion but also employs magic alongside her swordsmanship. A kind of shield magic – perhaps even the already familiar Quen – fire and lightning can be guessed at.

She also appears to have an extended arsenal of weapons at her disposal, including a Kusarigama-like weapon alongside her swords, a blade on a long chain. However, the trailer gives no indication of her significant teleportation abilities from The Witcher 3 and the books.

Here you will find content from Youtube

To engage with or display content from social networks, we require your consent.

Activate

I consent to having external content from social networks shown to me. This may result in the transfer of personal data to third-party services. Further information can be found in the description of this data processing purpose and in the privacy policies of these third parties.

What Else Can Be Seen in the Trailer

The landscape is somewhat reminiscent of the flat, swampy, and desolate Velen. Even if the plot isn’t set there, it seems probable that Ciri will traverse the Northern Kingdoms once more. However, a little snow can also be seen in the trailer. This could be an indication of even more northerly climes on the mainland.

Perhaps The Witcher 4 will finally take us to Kovir and Poviss. Temeria, Redania, and even Kaedwen would be just as conceivable. It’s possible that the open world is expansive enough for Ciri to visit all these locations. CD Projekt has already confirmed that it is once again an open-world title.

Above all, the trailer demonstrates a clear intention to adhere to the series’ established narrative style. In The Witcher 4, Ciri roams the land as a witcher, and, as such, it is her job to hunt monsters. Like her foster father Geralt, however, she is repeatedly confronted with the fact that humans can sometimes be monsters, too. When she returns to the village after a successful monster hunt, she discovers that the young woman she tried to save with her deed has now been executed by her own people.

“The Witcher 4” Remains True to the Series

However, this scenario raises a question: how will The Witcher 4 address the fact that Ciri’s path as a witcher was just one of three potential endings in The Witcher 3? She could also become Empress of Nilfgaard or disappear completely. And one of the strengths of previous games has always been that CD Projekt has taken its players’ decisions seriously.

In an interview with GameStar, Miles Tost, head of the level design department at CD Projekt, gave at least a partial answer to this question. It is improbable that Ciri’s ending as a witcher will be considered canonical. It remains exciting to see what solution the studio will find for this in The Witcher 4.

How Ciri will act as the new protagonist in The Witcher 4 will also be interesting to see. In the GameStar interview, Tost said that a new scope of action had to be defined. On the one hand, Ciri is Geralt’s daughter, and the players already know her. On the other hand, the young woman’s character and values differ from Geralt’s.

More on the topic

Video game highlight CD Projekt does not want to repeat mistakes! All the info on “The Witcher 4”

With Prime Video All rumors and information about “Rings of Power” season 2

How is that received? Super Mario has lost one of his most famous features!

Trailer with Unreal Engine 5

Aside from these insights into the content of The Witcher 4 provided by the trailer, there is also something to discover on the technical side. It was already known that CD Projekt would be using Unreal Engine 5 for the new game. You can see that in the trailer. The developers have stated that it was “pre-rendered using a custom build of Unreal Engine 5 on an as-yet-unannounced Nvidia Geforce RTX GPU.”

This likely refers to the forthcoming RTX 5000 series. This could be unveiled in January at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. According to CD Projekt, the trailer also sets the bar for the game’s look.

However, the video does not reveal when the AAA game will be released. The title has only just entered full production. CD Projekt has made it clear that they aim to avoid repeating the mistakes from the release of Cyberpunk 2077 in The Witcher 4. Accordingly, it is difficult to provide guarantees for content and the release date in this case. Experts expect a launch at the end of 2026 in the best-case scenario.