A Witcher 4 Genesis: How a Witcher 3 Side Quest Prepared the Team
The development of The Witcher 4, featuring Ciri in a leading role and launching a new trilogy, began surprisingly with a seemingly unrelated quest in The Witcher 3. Two years prior to the game's initial reveal, a special side quest, "In the Eternal Fire's Shadow," was added to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Initially released in May 2015, The Witcher 3 already featured Ciri as a playable character in certain segments. However, the December 2024 Game Awards trailer confirmed Ciri's starring role in The Witcher 4. The "In the Eternal Fire's Shadow" quest, released in late 2022, served a dual purpose: promoting the game's next-gen update and providing in-game justification for the armor worn by Henry Cavill in the Netflix series.
Philipp Webber, former quest designer for The Witcher 3 and now narrative director for The Witcher 4, revealed the quest's significance. He described it as an initiation process for new team members joining the project, providing a seamless transition into the Witcher 4 development cycle. This "perfect start" aligns with the March 2022 announcement of The Witcher 4, approximately nine months before the side quest's release. While pre-announcement planning undoubtedly existed, Webber's statement illuminates the team's practical approach to onboarding new talent.
While Webber didn't name specific individuals, it's plausible that some team members transitioned from the Cyberpunk 2077 team (released in 2020). This timeline also fuels speculation about potential similarities between The Witcher 4's skill tree and Cyberpunk 2077's "Phantom Liberty" expansion.
