CD Projekt Red’s Modern Agenda And History Of Unfinished Launches Threaten To Ruin ‘The Witcher 4’
Recent news about the new Witcher 4 game from Polish developer CD Projekt Red sounds promising.
Their exact words read, “The next game we do will not be smaller, and it will not be worse. So it will be better, bigger, greater than The Witcher 3, it will be better than Cyberpunk – because for us, it’s unacceptable [to launch that way]. We don’t want to go back.”
However, while this statement builds confidence and hype, there are a few reasons these expectations should be cut down. CD Projekt Red has a history of hits, it is also a fact that their history is riddled with buggy launches, and an ongoing focus on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives doesn’t promise a bright future.
That said, the first Witcher game released in 2007 became an instant hit. It is also the first video game developed by CD Projekt Red, launching them to immediate stardom. However, The Witcher wasn’t a bug-free game. It crashed randomly, most notably during autosaving. Then there were quest-related bugs and even graphical glitches that broke the game.
Nevertheless, it played a crucial role in popularizing Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels outside Poland as the books received their English translations only after the game’s release. The video game introduced the wider public to the now-legendary White Wolf, Geralt of Rivia, a mutant monster-slayer, and a rather complex universe.
Over the years, Geralt’s name became synonymous with the franchise as the sequels built on the foundation of the first game – telling deep, emotional, and morally ambiguous stories inspired by the novels. Along the way, players encountered other memorable characters like Triss, Yennefer, and Ciri, traversing such locations from Novigrad to Skelige and more.
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Unfortunately, these sequels also brought new bugs, proving that CD Projekt Red couldn’t launch a polished game. Adding to the list of poor launches is the fact that their recent triple-A release, Cyberpunk 2077 further tarnished CD Projekt Red’s reputation. The years of hype and anticipation resulted in a broken state launch, as bugs, performance issues, and incomplete features plagued the game.
The next-gen RPG came out as a broken, mindless first-person shooter. While the updates have improved the game, the damage to the studio’s credibility remains and can translate to the next Witcher game, especially now that CD Projekt Red is doing the same thing again, hyping it up years before its potential release.
On another note, Geralt’s story ended with the post-Wild Hunt DLCs in which he was given his retirement home and a woman (put it that way). The Polish developer deserves credit for fleshing out the source material and translating the lore into game mechanics, turning it into one of the best RPG series, but its future is uncertain, and a new Witcher without Geralt feels even pointless, and nothing more than a cash grab on an eponymous IP.
The Witcher 4 will have a new protagonist, but this raises the question of whether the series can maintain its iconic status without Geralt as the central character. Can the Witcher name thrive without its White Wolf?
To mend this, CD Projekt Red might opt for Ciri to take the lead role as the players get a chance into her own story as a new Witcher or an Empress, continuing the overall arch of the trilogy.
However, throwing Ciri at the center of the story might feel like a lazy solution, as the Elder Blood child will be overpowered, especially in the post-Geralt era. Be that as it may, CD Projekt Red will need to channel all its creativity into creating a stronger character than Geralt, if they want to make the game bigger and better.
Unfortunately, many game studios have fallen under the inclusion politics and CD Projekt Red is no exception. These initiatives have affected the overall game experience with characters that feel sanitized, hollow, and overemphasized in terms of sexuality and gender neutrality, which chips away from meaningful character development.
Many fans are disappointed with the latest titles that come from studios with DEI agenda, such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which is just a shell of its former self caught in the fallout of new IPs like Concord, Unknown 9: Awakening, and others.
The adoption of DEI initiatives by CD Projekt Red since 2018 only adds to the concern about whether the Polish studio can create a new character with traits worthy of the franchise. The new game might witness the same fate as the aforementioned titles, of course, if the character is underdeveloped and made to push a certain agenda.
There is no denying that Sapkowski’s novels offer a lot to draw from for future games, both in characters and storywise. However, it will be a challenge to maintain the previously set standard while balancing creative freedom and studio policies. CD Projekt Red needs to take some bold steps beyond Geralt’s name and avoid the pitfalls of modern games. A new character could only work if it is not a preset one.
Allowing players to create their own character and set out to an unknown adventure could lead to choosing a different Witcher school, such as Wolf, Cat, or Griffin, and making their own path as a new Witcher in a post-Geralt world. Moreover, it could even lead to the origins of Witchers and Witcher school, diving into a pre-Geralt era, full of political and societal disasters.
But for everything to work, CD Projekt Red must keep the core of the franchise. These include excellent writing, and relatable characters, but also branch out into the territory of a ‘Skyrim-like make-your-own story’ sandbox of freedom now that Geralt and his story have been concluded.
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