A Witcher 4 Genesis: How a Witcher 3 Side Quest Prepared the Team

The development of The Witcher 4, featuring Ciri in the lead role for a new trilogy, began surprisingly with a seemingly unrelated quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Two years before the Witcher 4 announcement, a special side quest, "In the Eternal Fire's Shadow," was added to Witcher 3.

This quest, initially conceived as promotion for the game's next-gen update and a canonical explanation for Henry Cavill's Netflix armor, served a crucial behind-the-scenes purpose. According to Philipp Webber, narrative director for Witcher 4 and quest designer for Witcher 3, the quest acted as an onboarding experience for new team members joining the Witcher 4 development. Webber described it as "the perfect start to getting back into the vibe," perfectly aligning with the March 2022 announcement of Witcher 4.

While the exact identities of the initiated team members remain undisclosed, speculation points towards transfers from the Cyberpunk 2077 team, released in 2020. This timeline also fuels theories about potential similarities between Witcher 4's skill tree and Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion.

In essence, a seemingly minor Witcher 3 side quest inadvertently played a pivotal role in shaping the foundation for the next chapter in the Witcher saga, seamlessly transitioning new talent into the development of Ciri's solo adventure.