Highlights

  • CD Projekt Red has multiple games in development, including a remake of the first Witcher game and the next main Witcher installment.
  • Project Sirius is a standalone spin-off of the Witcher IP with multiplayer co-op, but its current status is unclear.
  • The multiplayer Witcher game could draw inspiration from the gameplay of Evolve, with players taking on the roles of hunters and monsters.

Even with Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion out of the way, CD Projekt Red has a lot on its plate. The Witcher is still going strong, with work on its live-action Netflix adaptation continuing and multiple games in development by different teams. Project Canis Majoris will be an Unreal Engine 5 remake of the first Witcher game, which is being outsourced to the Polish development studio Fool’s Theory. It's not expected for a while, though it's a toss-up whether it or the next main Witcher installment, tentatively codenamed Polaris, will be ready first. All of that isn't even getting into whatever else CD Projekt Red has planned for the Cyberpunk franchise.

The last notable Witcher confirmed for now is the mysterious Project Sirius. It’s intended to be a standalone spin-off of the Witcher IP, and is being covered by the CD Projekt Red subsidiary Molasses Flood. Little is known about this title besides its intent to add multiplayer co-op to an otherwise single-player Witcher game. The current status of Project Sirius is also unclear after an early 2023 announcement that its development was changing direction. Still, CDPR intends to launch a multiplayer Witcher game eventually, and when it does, it should consider doing more than just letting players help each other out; it could borrow from the style of 2015's lost multiplayer game Evolve.

Witcher Geralt Ciri
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What The Witcher Series' Multiplayer Content Could Look Like

CD Projekt Red has just announced that the next Witcher game will introduce multiplayer to the series, but there are a few things that could mean.

Certain Parts of The Witcher Lend Themselves To Multiplayer

Geralt riding a horse chasing a flying monster in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Most fans remember The Witcher more for its compelling characters and twisted fairytale world than for its gameplay. Despite that, The Witcher 3 managed to build an impressive monster hunting system, to the point where Geralt of Rivia even appeared in one of Monster Hunter World's most involved collaborations to help track a displaced Leshen. The necessity to research larger targets and prepare before confronting them made up for the otherwise simple combat mechanics, and helped players immerse themselves more in The Witcher's world.

Monster Hunting Should Be At The Core Of Project Sirius

When discussing a multiplayer Witcher title, an obvious selling point would be multiple players going on these sorts of hunts together. If there's still a single-player component involved, then the result could play out somewhat like a combination of The Witcher 3 and Monster Hunter, with a few players loading into lobbies before setting out to gather supplies and track the target. However, that's not the only game type possible when it comes to pitting multiple Witchers against a monster, and a must-have feature for the multiplayer Witcher game could draw a lot of attention through asymmetrical PvP in the vein of Evolve.

Evolve Provides An Ideal Template For A PvP Witcher More To Copy

Although its servers went offline in 2023, Turtle Rock Studios' 2015 multiplayer shooter Evolve was a major talking point in its day. The game’s main premise involved a team of playable hunters tracking down a giant monster that was also player controlled, inverting the type of asymmetrical gameplay one would expect from modern titles like Dead by Daylight or Dragon Ball: The Breakers. Evolve’s different monster classes had to creep around the map and complete objectives while fending off hunters, growing through multiple stages of power before becoming nearly unstoppable and destroying the hunter team.

The Witcher could adapt Evolve’s gameplay in natural ways. Hunters assume various classes based on heroes from the series, like Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer, while the monster player controls one of The Witcher's iconic beasts, like a Wyvern or a Leshen. As the team uses their different skills to track and slay the beast, the lone monster player must gain strength through tasks like eating NPCs or players, destroying certain structures, or spending enough time resting in certain places. Players should gain an appreciation for the detailed abilities and goals of The Witcher's fantasy monsters from their perspective, as well as how Witchers can counter them. This PvP mode could be just what Project Sirius needs to stand out among the wave of upcoming Witcher titles.