The Witcher 3 Turns 10: CD Projekt Red Reflects on a Decade of Success, Challenges, and Learning

May 19, 2015, marked the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a game that would redefine open-world RPGs and catapult Polish developer CD Projekt Red onto the global stage. A decade later, with over 60 million copies sold, The Witcher 3 remains a critically acclaimed classic. This period has seen the studio navigate immense success, the turbulent launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and look toward the future with The Witcher 4. Developers involved reflect on the ambitious origins, the triumphs, the missteps, and the vital lessons learned along the way.

An Ambitious Beginning

When development began nearly 14 years ago, CD Projekt Red had never created an open-world game. Their previous titles, The Witcher 1 and 2, were linear. The team was younger and less experienced, but fueled by ambition.

“The Witcher 3 was supposed to be this game that will end all other games,” recalls Marcin Blacha, the game’s lead writer. The goal was ambitious: create a sprawling open world with a strong story, releasing simultaneously on multiple platforms. Enthusiasm was high, fostering a spirit of experimentation without fear. The conviction was that passion and love for the project would ultimately pay off.

Centering the Story: The Importance of Ciri

For Blacha, the narrative had to revolve around the core relationship from Andrzej Sapkowski’s books: Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer. After two games without their full presence, The Witcher 3 offered the budget and pre-production time to introduce Ciri and Yennefer properly. This decision proved pivotal. Blacha didn’t know it then, but Ciri would eventually become the planned protagonist for The Witcher 4.

However, bringing Ciri to the game presented a challenge. The book version was younger and more rebellious, a character some readers found “annoying,” according to Blacha. CD Projekt Red decided to create their own take, making her older and more grounded, or “flesh and bone.” This version resonated strongly, leading Blacha to predict her popularity even during development.

Artwork showing a leather-clad warrior lady hunched down on a horse, outrunning – or running with – huge glowing blue spectral serpents beside her. It

Ciri’s inclusion led to the decision to make the phantom force, the Wild Hunt, her primary pursuers, building on their introduction in The Witcher 2. The main story outline evolved from a brief treatment into a detailed narrative document.

Crafting World and Quests

Turning the story into a playable game fell to the newly formed quest design team, as the previous method of writers designing quests proved inefficient for the open-world scale. Paweł Sasko, who joined CD Projekt Red for this team, describes the process as transforming narrative paragraphs into playable questlines – a blend of game design and film scenario.

The world was conceptualized in terms of narrative hubs, like locations in a show:

• No Man’s Land: A horror-themed area, steeped in Slavic superstition, ravaged by war and famine.
• Skellige: An adventure-focused region.
• Novigrad: A setting for a large city investigation.

The Acclaimed Bloody Baron Questline

One standout example of quest design was the Bloody Baron storyline in No Man’s Land. Starting as a brief outline about Geralt seeking information about Ciri from a Baron in exchange for hunting a monster and finding his family, it evolved into a widely praised exploration of mature themes like domestic abuse, fatherhood, and grief.

Sasko aimed to present a flawed character and allow players time to understand or even sympathize with him. A key element he introduced was the “botchling,” a monstrous infant, inspired by Slavic folklore. This creature served as an overt objective, keeping players busy while deeper themes of loss and attempted redemption (like the Baron’s “peregrination” path) unfolded. Sasko aimed to emulate Witcher author Sapkowski’s method of using fantasy elements to explore universal human truths indirectly.

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The Bloody Baron, central to one of The Witcher 3’s most memorable questlines.

The emotional impact was significant, with players sharing how the quest resonated with personal experiences of loss.

Emotional Design: The Battle of Kaer Morhen

Sasko also played a major role in designing the Battle of Kaer Morhen, intended to be emotionally impactful through intense, fast-paced combat sequences. This led to the climactic moment of Vesemir’s death. This was Sasko’s idea, serving as a catalyst to transition Ciri from a character being hunted to one who becomes a hunter.

A screenshot of the witcher wolf school leader Vesemir having his neck broken by a heavily armoured figure in the foreground.

Lessons from The Witcher 3

Despite its success, developers acknowledge areas for improvement. Geralt’s “witcher senses,” a detective mode feature, were overused, becoming less impactful over time. The map cluttered with question marks leading to repetitive, minor treasure finds was another recognized misstep, driven by a fear the open world would feel empty.

Combat and overall gameplay depth were also cited as areas that, while adequate at the time, feel less refined by modern standards. Narrative pacing issues, particularly in cutscenes with excessive exposition, and cognitive overload from introducing too many concepts quickly were identified problems.

More broadly, the connection between the main story and the open world could have been stronger. Sasko compared the world to a “pretty backdrop” where little fundamentally changed based on story events. Improving this dynamic is a goal for future projects.

The Journey to Global Recognition

Before The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Red was primarily known in Poland and parts of Europe. Combined sales of the first two games were only 5 million in 2013. The Witcher 3 was seen as the opportunity to “play in the major league,” as Michałem Platkow-Gilewski, VP of Communications and PR, puts it.

Marketing efforts targeted North America, including a cover story with Game Informer. The strategy worked. Interest soared, transforming CD Projekt Red’s presence at events like Gamescom from handing out flyers to having hours-long queues just to play the demo. The studio had to quickly learn how to manage newfound popularity.

Live events were crucial fuel for development, providing direct feedback and energy from fans. Platkow-Gilewski highlights a memorable moment at PAX where voice actor Doug Cockle improvised Geralt’s lines live when the audio failed.

The Impact of Cyberpunk 2077

The decade between The Witcher 3 and its sequel was significantly marked by the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. While ultimately a commercial success with over 30 million units sold, its release, particularly on older consoles, was “nightmarish.” The PS4 version was temporarily removed from sale, leading to intense scrutiny and pressure on the studio.

CD Projekt Red spent three years patching and updating Cyberpunk, including releasing a major expansion, to improve public opinion. Platkow-Gilewski notes the difficulty in managing expectations, especially without the benefit of in-person events during the COVID-19 pandemic, which hindered gauging feedback compared to the Witcher 3 era. The key lesson from Cyberpunk was the critical need to align reality with expectations, which was challenging to control during its rollout.

Despite the launch issues, Cyberpunk also demonstrated CD Projekt Red’s progress in open-world RPG design in many areas, such as more dynamic character interactions (characters walking and talking), world density, and greater diversity in character models. It was, in many ways, a significant step forward technologically and in certain design philosophies.

Cover image for YouTube videoThe Witcher 3 Next-Gen Patch 4.02 – The Best It’s Ever Been – PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S

The extensive post-launch support for The Witcher 3, which reached version 4.04, mirrors the efforts made for Cyberpunk 2077. Expansions for both games became a way for the studio to deliver polished, high-quality content and leave players with a positive lasting impression.

The Power of Expansions: Hearts of Stone

Marcin Blacha considers his work on The Witcher 3’s expansions among his favorite, particularly the horror-themed storylines in Hearts of Stone. The expansion’s villain, Master Mirror (Gaunter O’Dimm), is widely acclaimed. His subtle introduction as an unassuming figure with immense power, only fully revealed later, made him memorable.

The shaven-headed and rather plain-faced character Gaunter O

A popular fan theory suggested Master Mirror’s face was deliberately hidden on other background characters to underline his pervasive influence. However, lead character artist Paweł Mielniczuk revealed the truth was more practical: the face model was simply reused for background characters due to a limited pool of models. The character who became Master Mirror was originally intended as an unimportant tertiary NPC.

The Witcher Brand Beyond Games: Netflix

Another significant development was Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher into a TV series starring Henry Cavill. Surprisingly, CD Projekt Red was not directly involved in the show’s production. Despite this lack of direct collaboration, the series significantly boosted The Witcher’s global visibility.

Cover image for YouTube videoGeralt’s live improv

The Netflix show had a tangible positive effect on game sales, with The Witcher 3 seeing spikes in 2019 and 2020. This increased familiarity with the world bodes well for The Witcher 4, though Platkow-Gilewski stresses it didn’t dictate their plans to return to the universe.

Looking Ahead to The Witcher 4

CD Projekt Red is now back in The Witcher world with The Witcher 4. Many core team members have moved to new roles (like Marcin Blacha and Paweł Mielniczuk on Project Hadar, a new IP) or other projects (like Paweł Sasko on Cyberpunk 2), but they will consult with the experienced team leading the new game.

Cover image for YouTube videoThe Witcher 4 – Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer | The Game Awards 2024

Returning to The Witcher might seem like safer ground after Cyberpunk, but the landscape has changed. The audience is larger and more familiar with the IP, but also holds higher expectations and a degree of caution following Cyberpunk’s launch. The studio is adjusting its communication strategy, showing less and talking differently to manage expectations in a more polarized online environment.

CD Projekt Red acknowledges the journey has involved significant learning. From the “bliss of ignorance” during The Witcher 3’s development, they now navigate challenges with more experience. They believe they can still be brave and innovative, using lessons learned from both successes and difficulties to chart a course for The Witcher 4 and beyond.

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