CD Projekt RED has surprisingly officially announced The Witcher IV with a long trailer - and also confirmed the new main character.
This was a bit unexpected: CD Projekt RED used the stage at The Game Awards 2024 last night to officially confirm the new Witcher game, previously known under the working title Project Polaris, as The Witcher IV. In this context, a long cinematic trailer was released and the new main character was also shown.
First of all, this makes it official that the next Witcher is a numbered sequel and will actually be called The Witcher IV. The developers themselves also speak of "a successor to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt", although the title also marks the start of a "new Witcher saga".
It was previously known that the witcher Geralt would no longer play the main role. Instead, you will be able to slip into the role of Ciri in the latest part of the series. In this regard, game director Sebastian Kalemba says:
"We're starting a brand new Witcher saga, this time with Ciri at the center of the story. It feels so good to finally be able to say these words. We've known for a long time that we wanted Ciri to be the protagonist of the game. It feels just right for us and we believe that Ciri deserves it. In this game we want to explore what it means to truly become a witcher by following Ciri on her journey. The trailer gives a taste of these two points and shows how dark and deep the world of The Witcher can be."
The trailer in question, which you can watch after this report, is a whopping six minutes long. This introduces Ciri in more detail as she accepts a witcher assignment in a remote village that has been terrorized for generations by a fearsome monster that demands human sacrifice. The video is designed as a short, self-contained Witcher story and provides a first look at Ciri's new abilities and tools, including a chain and expanded magical powers.
The focus of the trailer is on Ciri's perspective as an outsider in the village. When the villagers say goodbye to a young girl who is being prepared for the sacrificial ritual, the protagonist decides to intervene to kill the beast and save the girl. In doing so, she comes into conflict with people's prejudices and superstitions.
The video was created using a special build of Unreal Engine 5 and pre-rendered using a yet-to-be-announced new GeForce RTX GPU from NVIDIA. The same technology will later be used in the finished The Witcher IV.
CD Projekt RED has not yet given a release period for “the most captivating and ambitious open-world game in the Witcher series to date.”
CD Projekt RED officially announced The Witcher IV at the Game Awards with a long cinematic trailer.
