While the grand finale of The Game Awards 2024 belonged to "Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet," a brand-new sci-fi IP from developer Naughty Dog and publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment, the reveal generating the most discussion is undoubtedly the fourth installment in The Witcher saga from CD Projekt Red.
Following the debut of the game's first cinematic trailer, CD Projekt Red Executive Producer Małgorzata Mitręga spoke with IGN, explaining from the perspective of the original novels why Ciri was chosen to lead the new trilogy instead of continuing Geralt's story.
"Everything in the saga was always about her. She's an amazing, multi-layered character," Mitręga said. "We said goodbye to Geralt in the previous trilogy, so this is kind of a continuation for her. It feels like a natural choice for us, and this is her world to shine."
In addition, Game Director Sebastian Kalemba added that Ciri's younger age compared to Geralt gives players more freedom and choice in shaping her character story, allowing the development team to explore her personality more deeply.
"She's on her way to becoming a full-fledged witcher. She's building her own code of conduct in her own way, how she deals with monsters, how she takes on quests and adventures," Kalemba said. "And I think this allows us to tell different stories. We want to also have a chance to explore more nuanced emotions and details, which is our specialty. And for Ciri, she deserves this stage."
Both Kalemba and Mitręga acknowledged that making Ciri the protagonist might cause some controversy, but they revealed that the decision of who would take over the leading role was settled long ago.
"This is not a random decision, but a very thoughtful one," Kalemba said. "I remember nine years ago, we already started discussing who would be next — and the answer was already clear. It was Ciri."
"There are many reasons behind this, and what we've mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg. She deserves her stage, and we want players to experience her story fully because there are so many chapters to tell and layers to show. The challenges she faces inspire us to create an epic story. So, we had no other choice; we believe this is the right decision."
via： IGN