CD Projekt has explained why The Witcher 4 chose Ciri as the protagonist instead of continuing with Geralt as the main character.

The Witcher 4, just revealed with a first trailer at The Game Awards 2024, is the first part of a new trilogy of Witcher games set after the events of The Witcher 3.

Speaking exclusively to IGN ahead of the reveal, executive producer Małgorzata Mitręga said Ciri was “the very organic, logical choice.”

“It’s always been about her, starting with Saga when you read it in the books. She is an amazing, complex character. And of course we said goodbye to Geralt as the protagonist beforehand. So this is a sequel. I think for all of us it is as it should be. It was always her.”

Game director Sebastian Kalemba added that because Ciri is younger than Geralt, players will have more freedom to define her character in a way they couldn’t with Geralt. This also gives the developers more space to explore their character.

“She is actually in the process of becoming the Witcher,” Kalemba explained. “She is in the process of actually creating her own code, but on her own terms. The way she actually deals with the monsters, the way she deals with quests and adventures, is her own style. And I also think that she gives more room here and there to be able to tell different stories . Of course we want to give the player the opportunity to explore more nuances, because that’s what we do. But she deserves this.”

Both Mitręga and Kalemba acknowledged possible backlash from some corners of the internet over Ciri’s role as the protagonist in The Witcher 4, but both insisted that Ciri would always be the game’s main character.

“There was an intention behind this decision,” Kalemba said. “It was far from roulette. It wasn’t a coincidence. I remember nine years ago we were discussing who was next. The very, very immediate answer was Ciri. There are many reasons for this. We have already mentioned some. But she really deserves a stage and we want players to truly experience her story because she has so much to tell and so much to prove. The amount of challenges ahead give us so much incredible energy and fuel to create an epic saga that we had no choice but to jump into it. We all felt that this was the right path. I think this is absolutely the right choice.”

We’ve got lots more exclusive content on The Witcher 4, including a trailer breakdown and an interview with CD Projekt in which the developer explains why The Witcher 4 will avoid a Cyberpunk 2077-style launch disaster.

And be sure to check out IGN’s roundup of everything announced at The Game Awards 2024 to learn more about what’s coming to the world of gaming in the coming years.

Wesley is the UK news editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].