CDPR devs are excited 'we can finally say The Witcher 4 publicly', and laugh about trying 'to learn not to call it Polaris anymore'
CD Projekt has officially revealed The Witcher 4 with a cinematic trailer showing the new protagonist (but old series mainstay) Ciri intervening as a village maiden is sent off to sacrifice. Geralt's adopted daughter is the new main character, a decision CDPR says was already on the cards during the development of Wild Hunt, and the game's intended as "a new beginning" for the fantasy RPG series.
PCG's Evan Lahti had the chance to sit down with game director Sebastian Kalemba and executive producer Gosia Mitręga after the launch of the new trailer and, Ciri herself aside, one of the topics is the game's production. CDPR has been teasing The Witcher 4 for years under the codename Polaris, and recently announced it had entered full production, but managed an actual surprise with the timing of the trailer: Hey maybe we won't be waiting until 2028 for this thing.
What stage is the game at now? "We've entered full production a few weeks ago, and right now the team is more than 400 people, set up and working together in that structure," says Mitręga. "So we already have pipelines, and we are really hyped, because this is the moment when you know what to do. You've got tools, you've got everything, and we are scaled up and ready to continue and to deliver you the game right at some point. So this is where we are, we're just kicking off production right now."
It does seem that a game with such a lavish six-minute reveal trailer must have been in full production longer, but Kalemba insists it only got into full swing "a couple weeks ago, a few weeks ago? Actually, it was perfect timing for us. Like, perfect, it clicked. Entering production then we had the trailer that we've been kind of finalizing, and it all clicked. It's a perfect fuel, great motivation for all of us. So I think the team is super excited."
Gosia Mitręga chuckles and adds "even on the level that we can finally say The Witcher 4 publicly and it's allowed, right? This is not a codename anymore, so this is exciting." Kalemba instantly picks up the thread and says they have to "try to learn not to call it Polaris anymore, because we are so used to it. Even that detail is super satisfying, right? We are happy, and our amazing team is also ready."
This trailer will probably be the last we see of The Witcher 4 until next year, but it seems to have surprised fans in the best possible way. It's great to see CDPR returning to the world that the company is built on, hitting what feels like the exact right tone, and of course putting Ciri front-and-centre: And even the consolation for the big Geralt-fanciers that, "definitely he's going to appear."