Why the Protagonist of The Witcher 4 Shouldn’t Be Ciri

Everybody’s favorite white-haired cool guy water-gremlin-killing simulator is getting a sequel. We know that Geralt of Rivia is hanging up his boots, but who will take his steed as the main character of The Witcher 4*? 

Last year, I finally played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its DLC expansions, and I was fully wowed in every way and wanted more. Lucky for me, the game’s been out long enough that announcements from developer CD Projekt RED have trickled out about a new game in the franchise. 

Most recently, Geralt of Rivia’s voice actor commented on his character’s role in the next title. More on that later, but the short version is that Geralt will probably not be the protagonist. This makes sense, given the only true marketing image we’ve gotten from CD Projekt RED so far: a Witcher medallion, half-buried in the snow, from the heretofore unheard of School of the Lynx. Meanwhile, Geralt is known as The White Wolf, so named because of his white hair and because he is trained in the Witcher School of the Wolf, one of many animal-themed factions with different technical approaches to killing monsters and bad guys.

I’ve been thinking about the news since then, and wondering what the School of the Lynx could be. Another editor put a poll in our community Discord chat asking if we thought the main character would be Ciri or a Create-A-Character. While I feel like a CAC would be awesome for the game, it’s more that I strongly feel Ciri shouldn’t be the protagonist. 

*Two notes: Obviously, big spoilers ahead for The Witcher 3. Also, I know that the game is not actually called The Witcher 4. The project is code-named Polaris (which reminds me of Control). However, if I say The Witcher 4, you’re more likely to know what I’m talking about and it captures the vibe better, so that’s what I’m going to call it for now.

Let Ciri Live Her Life

Ciri is a main character of The Witcher 3, no matter how you define it. She is Geralt’s key focus, and furthermore, that of all the game’s major factions. People are obsessed with her, constantly seeking her for their own gain, and, depending on how you play Geralt, even her adopted father could sell her out. Furthermore, Ciri is playable multiple times in The Witcher 3. She’s awesome to play as, utilizing speedy translocation powers to zoom around the battlefield. And, in one possible ending of the core game, Geralt takes Ciri out with him on an official Witcher contract, ending up in the same bar that the game begins in. It’s epic. 

Ciri’s journey only gets better from there. In the truly excellent DLC expansion Blood & Wine, Geralt, through a series of royal politics, comes into stewardship of a local vineyard called Corvo Bianco. The traveling warrior suddenly has a home, and not the brutalist stone castle where he was trained (and mutated) as a young boy. All of a sudden, he has his own room that he can decorate with paintings and weapons from his journey. He’s a manager, a landlord, and a gardener. 

At the end of an epic murder mystery filled with vampires and jumping into storybook lands, Geralt is greeted by a familiar guest at his vineyard. Depending on the actions of the core game, it’ll either be your chosen romance (Yennefer or Triss), his bro Dandelion, or Ciri. Yennefer showed up for me, and Geralt and she had a nice cuddle, talking about their well-deserved retirement. But when I watched Ciri’s Blood & Wine visit on YouTube, that’s when I really felt like I reached the true ending of the game. 

Ciri surprises Geralt as he sits on a hill overlooking the estate. They laugh and pick at grass. She tells him of how she’s become a witcher, and how much she’s loving traveling. Geralt offers that she can stay as long as she wants, but you can tell by the look in Ciri’s eye that she’s excited to get back out there. Finally, finally, she is free to live exactly how she wants to live. 

And that’s how it should be. 

While I would love to play as Ciri for a full game (she’s so cool!!!), I don’t actually want to be able to. Even Andrzej Sapkowski, author of The Witcher books, says he is done writing about Geralt and Ciri. Her story, as well as Geralt’s, has come to a natural ending. They both deserve to be free of their society’s obsession with them, as well as being literally controlled by the player. 

But Ciri Can (and Should) Be in The Witcher 4

Just not as the protagonist. Ciri arriving as a mentor or as a quest-giver will still make fans (and the devs who clearly love her) happy without undermining her journey. It’s like when Princess Leia shows up in The Force Awakens. She’s not the main character anymore, but we do get an epilogue to her character’s journey, screaming with delight when she shows up on screen. 

Given the comments by Geralt’s voice actor Doug Cockle in an interview with Fall Damage, I imagine this is what Geralt’s role will be—an epic moment for fans and a relevant world-building opportunity. 

“What we know is that Geralt will be part of the game, we just don’t know how much, and the game won’t focus on Geralt. It’s not about him this time. We don’t know who it’s about. I’m excited to find out. I want to know. I have not seen any script yet. I mean, I couldn’t tell you if I did. This is the thing, so I could be lying through my teeth. But I’m not. Or am I?”

Cheeky, yes, but my gut instinct (for all the reasons I’ve shared before) is that Geralt will indeed not be the protagonist of The Witcher 4. Having Geralt and Ciri both be advisory side characters (perhaps a companion for a quest or two) could really hit without undermining the beautiful endings both have been given before. 

Roleplaying games have used this to great effect already, like how the player-character in Dragon Age II can show up in Dragon Age: Inquisition as a comrade. Hell, even The Witcher 3 did a great job of bringing in characters from previous games. It’s a lesson that CD Projekt RED can and should trust. 

The Witcher 4’s School of the Lynx

The School of the Lynx, not to be confused with School of the Cat, is a new Witcher school specifically created for the new games. With that comes a great potential for all-new world-building that will allow the team at CD Projekt Red to really explore their creativity. They’ll get to design this new lore from scratch, and that will create a wonderful opportunity for players to grow along with the franchise. 

All witchers are trained in a certain School. There are seven schools, though in the games, we primarily only see characters from a few. There’s the School of the Wolf (where Geralt is from, so we obviously spend the most time there), the Griffin, the Bear, the Viper, the Cat (which fizzled out due to betrayal of the Wolf), the Manticore, and the Crane. Witchers wear medallions to identify them as such so the public can hire them for contracts/spit on them for being mutants/etc.

Each Witcher School has its own methodology and attitude towards their work, taking clear inspiration from the animal for which they’re named (Vipers use poisonous twin blades, Bears live in cold mountains and have to take grueling tests of strength, and so on). So what can we guess about the School of the Lynx? 

A lynx is a medium-to-large-sized wildcat (with famously upright, pointy ears), and can refer to one of four species: Canada lynx, Iberian lynx (Endangered; please consider supporting biodiversity and animal conservation orgs!), Eurasian lynx, and the bobcat. I did a quick dive into the lynx Wikipedia page so you don’t have to, and have brought out some highlights that could be inspiring the dev team for the school’s lore. 

• Lynx are experts at stalking prey, so we could get some serious stealth action in the game. 
• While they’re excellent hunters on land, they are also swift swimmers and catch lots of fish. They can also climb super well. This may mean that Witchers from the School of the Lynx emphasize adaptability across terrains, and we could be getting a more vertical and movement-free game a la Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. 
• Lynx create their own dens out of fallen trees or rock ledges. It’s giving self-sufficient, outdoorsy survivor. 
• They’re solitary animals but occasionally travel in small groups. Classic Witcher energy. 
• Lynx always have white hair on their chest—remind you of anyone else we know? 
• They have bright, reflective eyes—how appropriate, given Witchers’ yellow cat eyes! 

Some people have theorized that perhaps Ciri has gone on to found the School of the Lynx. Or, it could simply be a conveniently retconned addition so that way devs can design new lore. Whatever the School of the Lynx ends up being, I have a pretty clear idea of who the protagonist should be. 

The Protagonist of The Witcher 4 and Geralt of Rivia

I think that the protagonist of The Witcher 4 will likely be a young, inexperienced Witcher from School of the Lynx, and most likely one created by the player. The success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and how it handled its Create-A-Character protagonist will probably be a big inspiration for the team. From interviews, it sounds like CD Projekt RED wants to make a new trilogy, and what better way to have players grow with it than by literally having them create their own character for that journey? 

This would invite all players to start from a more level playing field at this new chapter of the franchise. Many players of The Witcher 3 didn’t play The Witcher or The Witcher 2, much less read the books. A new Witcher would allow players to define that character’s journey. In comparison, by the time we meet Geralt, he’s already a renowned hero and supercharged mutant that people recognize on the street. In the games, he’s around 100 years old (since Witchers can live longer than regular people). It would be exciting to meet a young witcher who, you know, is just not that good at their job yet. 

When I first tried to play The Witcher 3 in 2015 after its release, I just couldn’t get into it, especially because of Geralt. He seemed full of himself and very holier-than-thou. His try-hard gruff voice made me roll my eyes. Like, okay toxic masculinity. I got it, it’s another grumpy white dude protagonist. Early in the game, Geralt gets a really long haircut and someone asks him questions about his journey so far.

It’s an efficient way to allow players to choose critical choices from the first two games to change how they affect the world around them and to give a brief summary of previous events. But, to be honest, it overwhelmed me. I had just met this guy and now I felt I had to learn his whole life story. Add in janky controls on (now) last-gen consoles, and I dropped the game a few weeks later. 

This is all to say—Geralt has had a very full life. I mean, this dude has technically died and then lived for some time in another plane of existence (that’s a whole other story). It makes for rich storytelling, but it can also be off-putting to people who are trying to absorb a biography of a character they’re supposed to feel some control over. Ultimately, CD Projekt RED sticks the landing again and again with Geralt in The Witcher 3, but those early hours are critical for getting gamers emotionally invested. 

Let me be clear: over time, I came to love Geralt. I found myself nodding along with his grim expressions of tough situations. I admired his gruff humphs, his under-the-breath laughs, his steadiness with his friends, his steeliness with bad guys. As Geralt effortlessly switches swords to carve up a werewolf, I’d be like, OH YEAH, it’s on! When I watched the 10-year anniversary video where Geralt talks to the camera, inviting the player into his home, I literally cried. 

Geralt, like Ciri, has had a truly beautiful exit.

To have another game with the protagonist as Geralt, or one with Ciri, could ruin the gorgeous endings that both have already had, like eating too much cake. Introducing us to yet another epic character that we have to take on the mantle of would be extremely difficult to pull off. There’s no way that character could live up to Geralt or Ciri, so the only path forward is someone who’s a relatively blank slate. So, in my mind, the most “right” choice for the protagonist of The Witcher 4 would be an inexperienced Witcher from the School of the Lynx.

Let’s Discuss

But, that’s just my opinion, and we’ve got some time. So, who do you think will be the protagonist of The Witcher 4? And/or, who SHOULD be? Let us know in the comments!