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The Witcher IV Wows During Game Awards Reveal

The Witcher IV artwork of Ciri walking through a dark forest towards a fire-lit village with the game logo and text, A New Saga Begins

Developer CD PROJEKT RED took one of winter’s biggest gaming shows by storm as they unveiled a long-awaited first look at the next game in their critically acclaimed Witcher series: The Witcher IV.

Previously known by its codename, “Polaris,” The Witcher IV‘s reveal trailer was one of the biggest unveilings of The Game Awards 2024. Firm details on the game are scant, but the nearly six-minute trailer re-introduced fans to a new protagonist with familiar roots: Ciri, adopted daughter of Geralt of Rivia.

Having embarked on the path of a Witcher herself, Ciri’s new role is revealed to us in a way many dark fantasy heroes are introduced: in a remote village with a dark secret. We won’t spoil it for you, but suffice it to say that — although pre-rendered — fans and newcomers alike are treated to a gorgeous first-hand look at Ciri’s new tools and abilities (including a chain and advanced magic powers). The trailer’s final impression reminds us all that monsters come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Check it out for yourself below, as well as a brief overview based on what we know so far, and the first screenshots from The Witcher IV.


“We’re kicking off a brand-new Witcher saga, this time with Ciri as the heart of the story!” said Sebastian Kalemba, Game Director. “It feels so good to finally be able to say those words — for the longest time we knew that we wanted Ciri to be the protagonist of The Witcher IV; it just felt natural to us and we believe that Ciri deserves it. In this game we want to explore what it means to truly become a witcher by following Ciri on her Path. This trailer is a taste of both that, and just how dark and grounded the world of The Witcher can be.”

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 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.

The trailer is pre-rendered in a custom build of Unreal Engine 5 on an unannounced NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU. Powered by the same tech that The Witcher IV is built on, using assets and models from the game itself, it aims to provide players with a cinematic look at the kind of experience the game is aspiring to provide. The trailer was created through a close collaboration between CD PROJEKT RED and Platige Image, who are no strangers to The Witcher universe, having been responsible for intro cinematics in the previous installments of the series.

The Witcher IV Screenshots

The Witcher IV is the successor to 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, one of the most acclaimed RPGs of all time. If you missed it the first time around, or simply want to dig back into a modern classic, RPGFan has you covered. Witcher fans and newcomers alike can check out our original PS4 review of the game, and podcast listeners should check out Retro Encounter’s Top Eleven PS4 RPGs as well as this fall’s Rhythm Encounter episode dedicated to lo-fi RPG music.

No release date or platforms have been set for The Witcher IV, aside from, presumably, PC. But you can bet that when we know more about The Witcher IV (and also the elusive Witcher Remake), RPGFan will have you covered.

Until then, head back over to the RPGFan main page for the latest news and announcements in all things RPG!

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Kyle Cantelon

Kyle Cantelon

Kyle is just embarking on his main quest at RPGFan and couldn't be more excited to join the team. He discovered the RPGFan community a couple of years ago and, after growing up in Western Canada as a "jock," was thrilled to realize that there were others in the world who learned roman numerals as a teenager thanks to the Final Fantasy series. Contributing to the news team is his main objective at the site and it is his goal to project the confidence of Ron Burgundy while keeping everyone from realizing he might just be Brick Tamland.

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