Highlights
- The Witcher series, based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's novels, is highly popular and has spawned spin-offs and adaptations.
- Two side projects, Project Canis Majoris (remake of the first Witcher game) and Project Sirius (standalone spinoff), are in development, but little information is available about them.
- The upcoming Witcher trilogy starts with a game codenamed Polaris, which is not considered the fourth installment but rather a new "Part 1" with a new protagonist and the School of the Lynx as a focus. It will be built using Unreal Engine 5 and is expected to release in 2025.
It's been eight years since the release of CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, and gamers are still playing and celebrating this epic RPG experience. Considered one of the best fantasy RPG sagas of all time, The Witcher series, based on the novels of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, has become so popular that it has spawned a number of spin-offs based on its in-universe playing card mini-game, Gwent, not to mention an ongoing series on Netflix along with an accompanying prequel series and an animated movie.
The Witcher is the story of Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher and monster-hunter. In the lore, the land known as the Continent is overrun by monsters, ghosts, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. Geralt, having gone through a powerful and painful procedure to turn him into a mutant monster-slaying machine, has taken the lead of the games thus far, although there are many Witchers stemming from different Schools. This is where the upcoming new trilogy of Witcher games comes into play, although there are two side-projects involving the Witcher universe in production as well.
Project Canis Majoris and Project Sirius Will Dive Into the Series' Past and Expand Its Future
Before discussing the main three-game saga that will continue on the gameplay and narrative started by the original Witcher trilogy, the two offshoot projects are a better place to start, as there is even less information available about them than the former. Project Canis Majoris is actually a remake of the first Witcher game, being recreated from scratch to take advantage of modern PC and console technology. Project Sirius, on the other hand, is a standalone spinoff of the Witcher IP being developed by CD Projekt Red-owned studio, Molasses Flood.
Not much else is currently known about Canis Majoris, other than that it will take the partially open-world bits of The Witcher and combine them into one completely open world for gamers to explore. As for Project Sirius, it is intended to be a multiplayer Witcher game, although there will be a single-player campaign as well, for those who prefer to play alone. Unfortunately, not much else has come to light concerning these two titles.
The Next Witcher Trilogy of Games Starts With One Codenamed 'Polaris'
While the title Witcher 4 has been thrown around by both gamers and employees of CD Projekt Red themselves, this moniker needs to be taken with a grain of salt. As CD Projekt Red co-founder, Marcin Iwinski said on an investor call, "The Witcher was designed as a trilogy and a trilogy cannot have a fourth part, can it?" CD Projekt Red Global PR Director, Radek Grabowski further backed up the fact that the game is not a fourth installment in the established Witcher series with a tweet.
As such, Polaris should be considered as an all-new 'Part 1' of a fresh Witcher trilogy, which will most likely not have the number 4 in its title. This seems like a natural progression, as Geralt of Rivia will most likely not be the protagonist of Polaris or its sequels. After all, Geralt was getting pretty up in his years by the time The Witcher 3 took place, and the ending of the game and its expansions pretty much wrapped up Geralt's story with a neat little bow. He settles down with either Triss or Yennefer or rides off into the sunset of his retirement. Additionally, the one teaser image that has been released for Polaris indicates that another Witcher School other than Geralt's School of the Wolf or Ciri's School of the Cat will be taking center stage.
The image shows a Witcher medallion half-buried in snow, but it is clear that it is not one that has been seen in the games thus far. Since the picture's release, CD Projekt Red has confirmed the medallion to represent the School of the Lynx. This is a very interesting choice by the developer, as the School of the Lynx has not featured in any Witcher novels or games. In fact, it seems to have been spawned by a fan-fiction wiki site.
The other big piece of currently available information regarding Polaris is that it will be built using Unreal Engine 5, rather than CD Projekt Red's proprietary game engine. This is a first for the series and the developer. It is a very interesting prospect, as it will deliver even more heightened gameplay and visuals for a franchise that has always been cutting-edge. However, CD Projekt Red has implied that learning the intricacies of the new engine may slow down the efforts of the programmers a bit, meaning that the game is still a way off. Currently, the company has made it clear that gamers shouldn't expect Polaris until 2025.
The Witcher games codenamed Polaris, Canis Majoris, and Sirius are currently in development.