Summary
- The cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4 takes place in the far north.
- The game map is going to be similar in size to The Witcher 3, as will the amount of quests.
- There will be “new regions” to explore in The Witcher 4.
CD Projekt Red are currently engaged in a small press tour following the airing of The Witcher 4‘s cinematic reveal trailer at this year’s Game Awards. This has given us a steady stream of tidbits about the studio’s upcoming title, with the studio painting a general picture of what to expect.
In the cinematic trailer, we saw Ciri defeat a Bauk in the woods near a remote village where the villagers routinely engage in human sacrifice in order to “appease the gods.” Unfortunately for our new protagonist, the villagers still sacrifice a woman (Mioni) despite Ciri’s triumph over the evil creature.
To the Far North
That trailer takes place in the remote, “far north.” It’s unknown just how far north this village is, but there’s a chance it’s in northern Redania or beyond. In The Witcher 3, we explored southern Redania which borders the Nilfgaardian-occupied Temeria. In an interview with Easy Allies, CDPR executive producer Gosia Mitręga confirmed the team is “…introducing new regions,” (nice spot, Games Radar+). If this isn’t northern Redania, this remote village could be in Creyden, Kovir or Poviss. These are regions north of Redania and are united under the kingdom of Kovir and Poviss.
As for other areas, tons of regions on the Continent have never appeared in a mainline Witcher game. We’ve never been to Cintra, Rivia or Mahakam, to name but a few. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales explored a few of these areas, but that’s certainly not the same as having them fully realised in The Witcher 4.
As for how big the map is going to be, game director Sebastian Kalemba shed some light on this topic in an interview with Skill Up. He said, “The map is definitely more or less when it comes to size, the amount of quests, more or less the same. Again, the game is going to be big. But also, the ambition of the entire team is huge. So first and foremost, we want to deliver a super compelling experience.”
“Again, quality over quantity. But definitely, what we can promise: yes, this game is going to be pretty big. It’s going to be big compared to everything we’ve prepared so far…” Kalemba added.
I don’t think anyone would complain about the game not having a bigger map, considering that The Witcher 3 was quite a large game already. The prospect of new regions is very interesting, as we’ve only visited a tiny slice of the Continent in the game series.
The Witcher IV is a single-player, open-world RPG from CD PROJEKT RED. At the start of a new saga, players take on the role of Ciri, a professional monster slayer, and embark on a journey through a brutal dark-fantasy world. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, it aims to be the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date.