CD Projekt RED Talks Romance and Side Quests in The Witcher 4
The ability to have romances has become a hallmark of The Witcher series, not least of all influencing its popularity. However, in The Witcher 4, gameplay may be complicated by the fact that the main character will now be Ciri, not Geralt.
In one of many interviews — this time with GameSpot — the developers from CD Projekt RED confirmed that they will not abandon romances. According to game director Sebastian Kalemba and executive producer Małgorzata Mitręga, the writers will not limit themselves to intrigues for show:
Absolutely. It's a part of the way we make games. It is a part of human nature. It's a very normal thing. Without that I think we wouldn't be able to tell the very full story...But as always, we want to pay a lot of attention to it and make it super compelling and very meaningful. So it's not just to make a romance for the sake of making a romance. That's not the CDPR way.
The developers did not touch upon the topic of how wide the choice of partners for Ciri would be. But they talked about side quests — at least their variability and influence on the world in The Witcher 4 will remain:
We are always pushing further with each and every game. We will learn from the previous games and also look at what's happening in the market. You can expect us to. With our ambition, it will be nothing less. But yeah, we are looking forward [to exploring choices and consequences further]. To surprise the player, and to show them you don't really have control of [everything]. You think you're doing something and then it's the other way around. We also want to push how the side content and main content [are connected]. And also with Ciri herself [and how her growth is affected], right?
Earlier, in a conversation with another publication, the developers said that Ciri will lose some of the abilities she had in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. They also discussed the controversial choice of the heroine — according to them, CD Projekt RED was prepared for a mixed reaction from fans.
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