Some thoughts on CDPR recently
My favorite game company is CDPR.
The core of this company's brand is world-building, narrative, characters, and immersion — unlike Ubisoft or Sony, which often seem focused on selling systems, formulas, and repetitive "canned" games.
CDPR has always felt adventurous.
But lately, I'm not very optimistic about them.
First of all, the Witcher series essentially concluded with The Witcher 3. The first three Witcher games were all grounded in the original novels, so even if you leaned more commercial, you still had the source material as a foundation. Starting a fourth installment after the story has already concluded inevitably raises suspicions of squeezing the IP for profit. On top of that, the protagonist is being changed to Ciri. This isn't a natural continuation like The Godfather — it's a "new phase," a "new protagonist," a "new narrative core." That inherently carries risk, especially without the novels to anchor it if something goes wrong.
If you shift the protagonist to Ciri, can she truly carry the core of the series? From The Witcher 4 onward, CDPR will be the one determining the future direction of the franchise.
In a situation like this, a protagonist transition demands stronger, more meticulous authorial control. The company should focus entirely on this installment and remain cautious, rather than expanding into a larger industrial machine.
This is precisely the moment when distraction is most dangerous and authorial integrity is most necessary. If the story of The Witcher 4 collapses, then making The Witcher 5 or 6 afterward would mean the series has fundamentally failed.