Highlights

  • Geralt is not the only witcher out there. A new protagonist in The Witcher 4 could bring fresh perspectives to the franchise.
  • While another character like Ciri could pick up the mantle, a completely new witcher could offer the freshest perspective.
  • The world of The Witcher is vast, with different witcher schools and characters waiting to be explored in future games.

Geralt of Rivia has become synonymous with The Witcher. His story, his raspy voice, and his complicated relationship with the law of surprise are what come to mind when one thinks of The Witcher games. But "witcher" is a job, one that many others have taken on. Geralt is not the only monster hunter out there worthy of being the protagonist of a CD Projekt Red game. With the studio developing a new Witcher title under the name Polaris, it might be time for a new star to shine in The Witcher 4 -- and risky as it may be, it might be ideal if this character is a totally new face to the franchise.

Geralt in The Witcher 3
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The Witcher 4 will likely not focus on Geralt, but including the famous series lead in any capacity could result in some complications.

The Wild Hunt in Witcher 3 Cleanly Ends Geralt's Story

The Witcher games take place during a tumultuous time on the Continent: While the bellicose empire of Nilfgaard invades the kingdoms of the north, The Wild Hunt plots to overtake the whole of the world, and the witchers of the world are dwindling into single digits. Geralt is pulled into the conflict via Ciri, the princess accidentally gifted to him via the archaic law of surprise. Ciri grows into a formidable witcher herself, and in the final game, players have many different ways to end Geralt and Ciri's story. Not all of them are happy endings, but they are, ultimately, endings.

CD Projekt Red has the opportunity to let Geralt rest. At the end of the Blood and Wine DLC, Geralt himself seems keen on some relaxation. There are various arguments to be made about including him, whether as an NPC or a playable character, in the next game, but it is unlikely that he will be Polaris' protagonist. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt wrapped up a trilogy of games that told Geralt's story from amnesiac beginnings to heroic endings. It is time for the White Wolf to retire.

How A New Protagonist Could Solve an Old Problem in The Witcher

The previous games solved the apocalyptic threat of The White Frost and, in turn, the invasion of The Wild Hunt, but The Witcher trilogy did not solve the problem of witchers essentially going extinct. In the first game, Kaer Morhen, Geralt's home base, is attacked and the potions and mutagenics needed for the deadly Trial of Grasses are stolen. The Trial of Grasses is an excruciating, transformative process through which potential witchers either gain enhanced abilities or die trying. It's what gave Geralt his iconic silver-white hair, his monster killing skills, ability to see in the dark, and so on.

Part of the Trail of Grasses is conducted on "Uma" during the events of The Witcher 3 , but the whole of the process remains mysterious. It is said that only three in ten children that take on the Trial survive.

Although the stolen goods are recovered, the secrets behind making them have been lost long before Kaer Morhen was robbed. With fewer monsters roaming the world, there is no longer a great demand for witchers. The birth of a new witcher would be one way for CD Projekt Red to address this issue. A character totally new to the world of witchering would make a great foil to the old expert Geralt that players know and love. The games have never explicitly shown the entirety of what the Trial of Grasses entail, though players had a glimpse of how harrowing witcher training can be through Ciri's childhood exploits at Kaer Morhen, which houses the witcher School of the Wolf.

There are other witcher schools besides Geralt and Ciri's alma mater that could be the source of a new protagonist. The end of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings sees the resurrection of the School of the Viper, should Geralt choose to spare fellow witcher and kingslayer Letho. Any one of these schools, including the now-confirmed new School of the Lynx, could make a great new location to explore in The Witcher 4:

  • School of the Cat
  • School of the Bear
  • School of the Viper
  • School of the Crane
  • School of the Griffin
  • School of the Manticore

The world of The Witcher is wider than what is shown through Geralt's point of view. There are plenty of opportunities to take the next game to a new location, a new school, and explore through the eyes of a new witcher. Ciri is an obvious option for Polaris' protagonist, but her story has similarly been told through the original Witcher trilogy. With The Witcher 4, CD Projekt Red has the opportunity to start the next Witcher trilogy with a blank slate and a new witcher for players to come to admire.