Where’s Geralt? The When, Why and How of The Witcher 4?
The first three Witcher games were some of the best received RPGs over the past few decades, with The Witcher 3 being named one of the best games released that particular year. Because of that, it’s no wonder that many people are eagerly awaiting another installment in the franchise.
However, that doesn’t mean that The Witcher 4 is coming anytime soon; after all, CD Projekt Red are currently focusing on Cyberpunk 2077. Having said that, though, all signs point to a new installment being released in the franchise at some point or another.
But, fans of Geralt may be a little disappointed, as The Witcher 3 rounded out Geralt’s story, no matter which ending they received. Because of that, it may be likely that he won’t be returning. Even the characters voice actor Doug Cockle seemed to agree that he mightn’t be returning, saying in an interview with Gamereactor:
“If you’re leading into The Witcher 4, I can only say I have no idea, although I think it will be. This is my own opinion, and CD Projekt Red knows what they are doing, and I have no idea what the plan is, but… If I was CD Projekt Red, I would make The Witcher 4, but I would be focusing on Ciri. In The Witcher 3 she hints at visiting other worlds, and I think a game around her visiting those different worlds would be a cool Witcher 4.”
With that in mind, it’s not clear as to what role, if any, Geralt will actually play in any future installments, should they be released. That being said, there are a couple of things that he may be able to do should he return.
Chief among these is a Vesemir-type role. When we first meet Geralt, Vesemir assumes the role of a mentor to Geralt, and by proxy the player character. In-game, this makes sense as Vesemir would have been his tutor before the events of the first game unfolded. Throughout the franchise, he also assumes somewhat of a mentor role to Ciri.
Throughout the entire franchise, Vesemir shows the player the ways of the Witcher, while also doing the same for Ciri alongside Geralt, although to a lesser extent due to her not being mutated in the same ways we see actual Witchers.
While Ciri has already received a host of training from the likes of the Witchers at Kaer Morhen, as well as Yennefer and more, she may need additional mentorship while she’s on her journey. If we take Doug Cockle’s words as the vaguest hint – that of Ciri exploring other worlds – she’ll be in for a rough time.
Because of that, she’ll need some form of mentorship, and with Vesemir’s death in The Witcher 3, who better to take up that role than Geralt, whom Ciri has seen as a father figure for most of her life? Speaking of Vesemir’s death, it seems likely that Geralt may be in line to take up the position of the leader of what’s left of Kaer Morhen.
While there’ll always be those who want to continue on another story with Geralt as the centre of attention, it’s time to pass the torch to a new character, and The Witcher 3 helped prime players for taking full control of Ciri. Having Geralt guide Ciri in the beginning of the game – and possibly at key instances throughout – will not only let players properly take up the role of Ciri, but it’ll also give players a small dose of old Geralt.
