The Witcher 4 digs up CD Projekt Red‘s worshipped fantasy series after 10 years of hibernation, so it’s technically a huge deal for many reasons, but, for some fans, The Witcher 4 is mostly notable because it brings back the minigame Gwent.
“We love [Gwent],” executive producer Gosia Mitręga says in a recent interview with independent video game outlet Easy Allies. “We really love the game, and we also really carefully always listen to the community, which we [also] love.”
“I don’t think anyone will be disappointed,” she continues.
Gwent is a card game first introduced with The Witcher 3 back in 2015. It’s a way to pass time at the bar, invented by primordial dwarves, lore tells us, and it features a unique, snappy three-round system.
“There is no alternative” to Gwent, one fan says on Reddit. “Once the world learns this, the Great Sun will rise again!!!!”
Despite putting The Witcher series’ main games on pause, CD Projekt Red has been nurturing the Gwent flame over the past decade, releasing a free-to-play standalone version in 2018, though the developer no longer supports it. That doesn’t stop fans’ tragic love for Gwent from sinking its fangs deeper and deeper into their necks.
“I have spent hours of my life sitting here Gwenting,” says a recent Steam review. “I can feel my youth fade as the Gwent takes hold.”
Though Gwent is a turn-based poison coursing through their aching veins, The Witcher fans want more Gwent. They need more Gwent. In response, CD Projekt Red will release a physical version of the strategy game in 2025, in addition to adding it to The Witcher 4.
“It’s a part of the experience,” game director Sebastian Kalemba tells Easy Allies.