Summary
- The Witcher 4’s reveal trailer was largely praised, but certain gamers didn’t like Ciri’s design.
- This led to calls for it to be changed, something that some thought was the case in a recent behind-the-scenes trailer.
- The Witcher 4’s director has confirmed that isn’t the case at all, though.
A new behind-the-scenes trailer for The Witcher 4 convinced some people that Ciri’s face had been redesigned after backlash, but CD Projekt Red has confirmed that isn’t the case.
Even though it’s only been two months since The Game Awards 2024, it’s already starting to feel like a very long time since CD Projekt Red gave us our first look at The Witcher 4. As expected, The Witcher 4 stars Ciri, who’s becoming her own monster hunter separate from Geralt, which inevitably caused a certain crowd to get upset.
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Beyond the obvious factor of Ciri being the playable character, one of the things that caused controversy and claims of “wokeness” is Ciri’s design. While most Witcher fans were happy with it and understood she’s aged a bit and is more detailed, others suggested that CDPR was purposefully making her “ugly”.
Ciri’s Face Hasn’t Been Changed Since The Witcher 4’s Reveal Trailer
This backlash, as it always does, led to some demanding CDPR change Ciri’s face, a wish that many thought was granted thanks to a new behind-the-scenes trailer showing footage of the reveal trailer being put together. At certain points, Ciri looks a little different than in the final trailer, which is of course just because of angles, lighting, and unfinished models being used.
That didn’t stop the victory cheers claiming that CDPR had listened and changed Ciri’s face thanks to the controversy. That has now been confirmed once and for all not to be the case, as game director Sebastian Kalemba responded to the situation over on Twitter, saying that Ciri hadn’t been “modified”.
Kalemba says that the behind-the-scenes video features the same in-game model of Ciri as in the reveal trailer, and that it just looks different because it’s “raw footage” without lighting, camera lenses, or facial animation. Kalemba also points out that it’s a natural part of game development and that models are bound to look different depending on the medium.
The behind-the-scenes video features the same in-game model of Ciri as seen in the original trailer. We have not modified it. What you’re seeing is raw footage—without facial animation, lighting, or virtual camera lenses. – Sebastian Kalemba
This is the first time that CDPR have spoken out about the backlash that Ciri’s design got from a vocal minority, and it seems pretty clear how the studio feels about it. Let’s hope that the debate is put to rest now that the developers have said their piece.
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