Geralt cosplay rolls into Gamescom 2026 in a steaming wooden bath

Cologne showgoers ran into an odd scene at the entrance to Koelnmesse: a wooden tub full of steaming hot water was being wheeled around in front of the building, with Geralt of Rivia sitting inside it, utterly unbothered. The witcher was played by cosplayer Maul, known for his takes on the character — he posted the clip on his page.

He recreated the pose exactly — arms draped over the edges of the tub, legs propped up. Maul timed his ride to coincide with CD Projekt RED's recent announcements: the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remaster and the Songs of the Past expansion.

Fans of the series don't need the joke explained. The scene of Geralt soaking in a wooden bathtub has become one of the gaming industry's most enduring memes: a grim monster slayer shown in a completely mundane setting, that relaxed pose with knees sticking out, instantly took on a life of its own. The developers not only embraced the joke but ran with it — first releasing an April Fools' figurine of Geralt in the tub, and after seeing the audience's reaction, put it into actual mass production.

From there the meme spread across the whole franchise. The shot was recreated in detail in Netflix's "The Witcher" series starring Henry Cavill, and a reference to it was tucked into Cyberpunk 2077.

What moment from The Witcher 3 would you like to see recreated in real life? Let us know in the comments.