One key member of The Witcher 4‘s development team is calling on fans to avoid making any snap decisions about Ciri’s new role, look, and story until after they’ve actually played the game. CD Projekt Red has met some resistance to The Witcher 4 over its change in lead character from the rest of the game series, but engineering production manager Jan Hermanowicz thinks a lot of minds are going to be changed after players get their hands on it.
CD Projekt Red revealed that a new Witcher game was in development more than three years ago, but fans didn’t get their first good look until a trailer was released during The Game Awards 2024 presentation last December. The six-minute-long cinematic story trailer turned a lot of heads with its familiar dark fantasy elements and tension-filled content, but the most talked-about aspect is its reveal of Ciri as The Witcher 4‘s protagonist as she takes over the role from her adoptive father, Geralt.
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While a vocal majority of fans feel that Ciri is a great choice to lead the series into its next trilogy, there have been many who have expressed their displeasure at the switch, and Hermanowicz thinks they’re making judgment calls way too soon. In a new interview with GamesRadar+, Hermanowicz stated that fans should avoid criticizing CD Projekt Red for its choices until after they see and feel how Ciri fits into the story and gameplay of The Witcher 4. After they’re able to make informed decisions, he expressed confidence that players will appreciate the depth of her character, which goes far beyond what was revealed in the trailer six months ago.
The Witcher 4 Team is Still Standing By Its Ciri Decision
In crafting his plea for patience, Hermanowicz turned to the words of another prominent figure who is easily recognizable to the franchise’s fan community. Longtime Geralt actor Doug Cockle has addressed the Ciri controversy with gloves off, calling the criticism “stupid” and stating that he’s personally excited to get to play through a game with her in the lead, even though he’s no longer getting to voice the main character. Hermanowicz, in turn, shared Cockle’s opinion that fans should “read the damn books” that the games are based on before making claims that Ciri doesn’t make sense as a Witcher or protagonist of the coming game.
Cockle and Hermanowicz aren’t the only figures who have been publicly stumping for fans to embrace change. In late May, CD Projekt RED studio head Adam Badowski stated that The Witcher 4 development team doesn’t want to copy its tricks from past games, expressing the desire to keep giving players something new to experience and hinting that a switch in protagonist is far from the only new thing players will be seeing.