CD PROJEKT RED released six minutes long cinematic reveal trailer for the first Witcher game of the new Saga where Ciri will be the main protagonist!
I went to bed normally on a Thursday night and woke up in a world where The Witcher 4 was not only officially confirmed to be a fourth game in the franchise (that part is not new), but it has its own first trailer.
I have updated the article to include a few new details and clarifications revealed by Game Director Sebastian Kalemba, who did an official CDPR breakdown of the reveal trailer.
About the Cinematic Reveal Trailer
Not just any trailer. A six-minute-long cinematic reveal trailer!
Everybody and their dog already knew that there will be more Witcher games. In fact, we knew about the new trilogy. We even remember hearing the devs’ plans to release the next 3 Witcher games in the span of six years after the first one is out.
I don’t know about you. I certainly didn’t expect a six minute long cinematic as a reveal trailer. This is the second amazing surprise we get from this studio this week. Only three days after the surprising launch of Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.2.
The cinematic reveal trailer is a self-contained story. It shows us an old ritual where villagers are sending off a “chosen” young girl to “be the bringer of salvation”. She is to be sacrificed to a monster in the name of the gods.
Thanks to the trailer breakdown video, we now know that this village is called Stromford. It is “totally isolated place, up north”.
The name of the girl is Mioni and her father is sending her off voluntarily as a sacrifice to appease the gods. Later, we learn that, as it happens often on the Continent, the gods are actually a monster.
While the villagers say farewell to the girl, we see a hooded Ciri preparing to intervene, stop the ritual, save the girl, kill the monster.
Game director Sebastian Kalemba confirmed the monster to be Bauk. This is an animal-like mythical creature in Serbian mythology. As we saw in the trailer, it likes to hide in dark places.
We see a much older Ciri here. I’d dare to venture a guess that she is somewhere in her mid 40s. I am really bad at this, so feel free to tell me how wrong my guess was. Especially if/when we get a confirmation for the time period in which the new saga takes place.
Ciri is a fully developed witcher now. She has mastered the Witcher Signs. Her powers aid her on the path she has chosen to follow.
The old scar, left by Stefan Skellen on her left cheek, is still there, a constant reminder of the many challenges she had to overcome in her life.
The fact that Ciri is the new protagonist is probably not a surprise to any witcher games fan. We all knew she will be the center of the new saga. I am still amazed, but not surprised, at how awesomely badass she is in this cinematic.
Ciri acts smart, but also risky, allowing Mioni to go to the forest alone and start chanting to draw out the monster. Sebastian Kalemba confirmed this was in fact Ciri’s intention. She let Mioni go in, fully aware that she is risking the girl’s life.
We see a drastic transformation in her bahavior and actions before and after she drinks the potion. At first, she is stepping slowly and carefully, using primarily defensive moves.
After she drinks the potion, she switches to an aggressive mode and hurls into the monster using a mix of skills and abilities we know from the previous games and books, but also a few new tricks. I really loved the way she used Igni on the chain.
Correction: Sebastian referred to this effect as “enchantment”. It makes sense given the background Ciri has as a mage apprentice.
The monster fight is epic, and Ciri not only looks like Geralt, with her armor mirroring elements of Geralt’s iconic outfit from The Witcher 3 trailers and the game itself. She moves like him and is even more intimidating with a sword in hand.
You can easily tell she is a Wolf! A White Wolf! I am saying this fully aware that in the trailer we clearly see the Lynx medallion trembling on her neck. The same medallion that was the first clue about the next Witcher game.
Also, I would not be surprised if the armor parts she wears are actually parts of Geralt’s own armor set, modelled and redesigned to fit her body, but also to remind her of her father-figure and teacher.
The voice of Ciri is a new actor, but there is no confirmation of her name yet. I have to admit, on the first viewing, I really made myself believe that Jo Wyatt is back. But the voice just doesn’t match.
This trailer reminded me of the side quest in The Witcher 3 called In the Heart of the Woods.
Sebastian also hinted that there might be a positive outcome to the story in the trailer. An outcome where Mioni may live.
Whether this is an actual quest in the upcoming game, or not, we should expect a rich and complex network of choices and consequences in The Witcher 4.
About Geralt’s role in The Witcher 4
In a recent interview the voice actor for Geralt, Doug Cockle, retracted his own words from earlier this year when he almost confirmed Geralt to be in The Witcher 4.
He now states that he went off a rumor and doesn’t actually know if Geralt will be in the new game(s) at all.
I did go online and I said something about this and then I got slapped by CD Projekt. I don’t know how true it is. I went off a rumor. I thought I’d seen somebody from CD Projekt say that Geralt will be in Witcher 4 but he won’t be the main character. And I don’t actually know if that’s true now because they came back and they went, ‘We haven’t put anything out there, don’t say anything.’
I think it might be from a really really old statement that somebody who no longer works for CD Projekt actually put out about three years ago. So Witcher 4 is a complete mystery to me. I actually don’t know.
The truth is that at this point there is nothing confirmed in either direction. It is possible that Geralt may appear briefly, as a side character or a companion even. But we simply have nothing official yet.
On the development of The Witcher 4
CD PROJEKT RED has moved on to utilizing Unreal Engine for their games and is leaving behind its own RED Engine. Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty was the last new content we got from the studio before they officially switched.
The Witcher 4 is being developed on a customized Unreal Engine 5 technology. The official press release confirms for us that the cinematic trailer was rendered on this engine using a yet “unannounced NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU”.
The game will be a continuation of the story from The Witcher 3. You are probably wondering about that possible ending to The Witcher 3 where Ciri did not make it alive? Well, there are enough hints that even in this scenario, she may have survived. We are yet to see how the stories connect leading up to the fourth game in the series.
We’re kicking off a brand-new Witcher saga, this time with Ciri as the heart of the story! […] it just felt natural to us and we believe that Ciri deserves. In this game we want to explore what it means to truly become a witcher by following Ciri on her Path.
Sebastian Kalemba, Game Director
Release date?
There is nothing on this front either. CD Projekt RED once stated that they want to release the first witcher game from their new saga roughly one to two years after they fully reveal it.
I count a six-minute-long cinematic trailer as a full reveal. We have all the basics we need to know. Coupled with the announcement from a few weeks ago that the game went into full production, it is safe to say that The Witcher 4 has been officially fully revealed now.
Does this mean we get to play as Ciri in our beloved witcher universe in 2026? Doubtful. I have hopes for 2027, but with CDPD’s past experience, it is likely we may have to wait a little longer. And I don’t mind that.
If you have not yet read the source – the Sapkowski books, I highly recommend you fix that mistake as soon as possible. I finished them for the fourth time last year and I am almost ready to go again. You have plenty of time to fill between now and The Witcher Remake (of the first game). And even longer until the fourth game is ready and released.
