Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt, has responded to criticism over The Witcher 4 centering on Ciri — urging self-proclaimed fans of the franchise to “read the damn books.”

“That’s just stupid,” Cockle said of the backlash against CD Projekt’s next The Witcher RPG, which has drawn fire for making Ciri its protagonist for the first time.

“It’s not woke,” he added during a video published by Fall Damage. “There’s nothing woke about it. [Ciri] is a compelling character from The Witcher, and they’re choosing to focus on her — and that’s awesome.”

Still, despite Geralt maintaining some role in The Witcher 4, last year’s confirmation that his adopted daughter would lead the next game — and likely the entire upcoming trilogy — triggered predictable claims from a small online minority that the series was going “woke.”

“We can’t keep forcing Geralt into every single game forever,” Cockle continued, explaining why his character deserves a break. “Geralt’s journey ended. Blood and Wine was meant to close that chapter.”

“I celebrate Ciri. I celebrate her as the protagonist. So if you think this is woke… [blows raspberry].”

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Cockle then pointed out that The Witcher 4 features Ciri for a reason — one rooted in the original novel series by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski.

“If you read the books, you’ll understand why CD Projekt took this path,” Cockle said. “There’s a vast, rich world to explore with Ciri — something they couldn’t fully dive into in Witcher 3 because the story was centered on Geralt. But she hints at it.”

“If you think this is woke, read the damn books — they’re great, first of all. And second, you’ll realize it’s not nearly as woke as you think.”

CD Projekt’s games take place loosely after the conclusion of Sapkowski’s novels, though Sapkowski has consistently separated his own endings — and the definitive fates he gave his characters — from the video games that extend Geralt’s story further.

Without spoiling key plot points from the final novel that may appear in The Witcher 4, it’s clear that Sapkowski, like CD Projekt, viewed Ciri as a central figure — someone ready to step into the spotlight when Geralt needs to step aside.