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Nirolak · Nov 22, 2015

I've had a running theory that CD Projekt Cracow will start helming its own projects* and that the first one will be The Witcher 4.

*Due to the demands of modern game development, both studios would be needed during production to actually ship the product. My statement here applies more to where the pre-production team and most of the team leads exist.

I noticed that CD Projekt put up a ton of new job postings that provided some more potential evidence for this, so I thought I'd share and ask what people thought.

Quest Designer:

Note that they ask for knowledge of "Extensive knowledge of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels", which would be weird if they weren't making new Witcher games given that the last Witcher 3 expansion pack ships soon.

CD Projekt said:
Quest Designer
Design | Cracow | Cracow

Pluses:
Extensive knowledge of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.
Literary or role-playing experience.

http://en.cdprojektred.com/jobs/quest-designer/

Head of Studio:

This is a pretty demanding role for a support studio, which makes me think they're not planned to be a support studio, but rather are just having origins similar to how BioWare Montreal was built up.

CD Projekt said:
Head of Studio
Head of Studio | Cracow

As a Head of Studio you will be responsible for running our operations in Cracow. You will manage a team responsible for development of AAA games and directly cooperate with our Board of Directors and development team based in Warsaw. You will provide leadership for the team and will act as an executive producer for the content developed in Cracow. On top of that you will provide creative ideas within game design area and will determine a direction in which we will develop our stuio in Cracow.

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
Previous experience as a Game Director or Lead Producer.
Very good knowledge of AAA games development process.
Experience in leading a team and managing a development lifecycle.

http://en.cdprojektred.com/jobs/head-studio/

Gameplay Designer:

And to note, they're working on a AAA RPG.

Gameplay Designer said:
Gameplay Designer
Design | Cracow

DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES IN A NUTSHELL
Designing enemy spawn points arrangement, as well as collectibles distribution and economics.

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
At least one AAA RPG title shipped will be a strong plus.

http://en.cdprojektred.com/jobs/gameplay-designer/

So far Cracow has worked on Witcher 3 support and done a lot of work on the Witcher 3 DLC, which is a pretty good way to onboard a series to taking over a franchise.

Thoughts?

w0s · Nov 22, 2015

I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

Majestad · Nov 22, 2015

Good catch. The "Extensive knowledge of Andrzej Sapkowskis novels" pretty much gives it away.

How far is this studio anyway? The main team is supposedly working on Cyberpunk, right?

Nirolak · Nov 22, 2015

w0s said:
I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

Not unless something has changed:

IGN said:
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final Witcher game with Geralt of Rivia at center stage, and CDProjekt Red Senior Writer Jakub Szamałek told IGN, “we felt that we owed Geralt a proper goodbye, and decided to part ways with a boom.”

Szamałek continued, “I think good stories must have an ending. You cannot extend them indefinitely, and we felt that Geralt has had such an amazing adventure, and his saga is already so long and complex that this seemed like a good point to think about an appropriate finale for the story.”

Geralt “has reached the end of his journey,” but this doesn’t mean it’s the end of The Witcher universe in video games. “The Witcher universe is a very big place with a lot of NPCs, a lot of characters, a lot of places we haven’t shown yet,” Szamałek said. “So, we might return to it at some point…but we think that this is a good place to let Geralt enjoy his retirement and try something new."

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/29/ending-the-witcher-3-with-a-bang-ign-first

Orayn · Nov 22, 2015

w0s said:
I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

They're done with Geralt. Witcher 3 (and the books) set up an extremely likely protagonist for future games in a way that's kind of hard to miss.

Eolz · Nov 22, 2015

I don't think we'll see a Witcher 4 for quite a while.
But if we're talking about a spin-off or some new genre for this series, sure. Quest designers aren't just for Witcher-like RPG after all.

Really wonder what they'll do, and hope they won't be pulled off their own projects to help on Cyberpunk (a bit like Cyberpunk guys had to do on Witcher 3).

Strax · Nov 22, 2015

Has Andrzej Sapkowski only written Witcher books?

Deleted member 80556 · Nov 22, 2015

w0s said:
I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

They said they were done with Geralt's story, specifically.

I think this is a sound theory, Nirolak. Probably the most likely thing that's going to happen. To be honest, I think I've only seen you being wrong like once when you do this kind of prediction.

CDP Red will still work mainly on Cyberpunk, so we'll have great things from both teams, even if Red has to help do TW4.

Nirolak · Nov 22, 2015

Eolz said:
I don't think we'll see a Witcher 4 for quite a while.
But if we're talking about a spin-off or some new genre for this series, sure. Quest designers aren't just for Witcher-like RPG after all.

Really wonder what they'll do, and hope they won't be pulled off their own projects to help on Cyberpunk (a bit like Cyberpunk guys had to do on Witcher 3).

Their other Cracow jobs are explicitly for AAA RPGs. I'll add one in to clarify.

SugarDave · Nov 22, 2015

w0s said:
I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

I think they're just done with Geralt. Given the success of Witcher 3, I'd be very surprised if there haven't been at least some small conversations about possibly making more of them in the future.

Gurthang · Nov 22, 2015

Don't think will The Witcher 4. That would mean that it has to be a gigantic step up from the Witcher 3 which I think is a bit too much too expect from a newly founded studio. Could be a spin-off game set in The Witcher universe, like Mass Effect Andromeda.

TouchMyBox · Nov 22, 2015

Maybe they'll make a reboot called "The Hexer".

SmartWaffles · Nov 22, 2015

w0s said:
I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

They are done with Geralt's story, not the universe.

Krusenstern · Nov 22, 2015

Strax said:
Has Andrzej Sapkowski only written Witcher books?

He has written other novels as well, like the Hussite Trilogy. But I doubt the job posting is refering to those. They surely mean the Witcher novels.

I'm also expecting CDPR to continue making games set in the Witcher universe with other protagonists.

Eolz · Nov 22, 2015

Strax said:
Has Andrzej Sapkowski only written Witcher books?

No but he's mainly known for that, especially out of Poland.

Nirolak said:
Their other Cracow jobs are explicitly for AAA RPGs. I'll add one in to clarify.

Ah, nice to know. Cyberpunk is TBA 2017 right? Guess we won't hear any hints about this one before at least this date.

Einchy · Nov 22, 2015

SugarDave said:
I think they're just done with Geralt. Given the success of Witcher 3, I'd be very surprised if there haven't been at least some small conversations about possibly making more of them in the future.

I don't have quotes on hand but I remember them saying specifically that this was the end of Geralt's story and never that it was their last Witcher game.

I'd be amazed if Witcher 4 doesn't have us playing as Ciri.

Nirolak · Nov 22, 2015

Gurthang said:
Don't think will The Witcher 4. That would mean that it has to be a gigantic step up from the Witcher 3 which I think is a bit too much too expect from a newly founded studio. Could be a spin-off game set in The Witcher universe, like Mass Effect Andromeda.

Oh, I should note, I don't think it has to be called "The Witcher 4", but that it's a AAA Witcher game.

Like Andromeda is meant to be the next big Mass Effect title, but has a subtitle as to not scare off newcomers.

Eolz said:
Ah, nice to know. Cyberpunk is TBA 2017 right? Guess we won't hear any hints about this one before at least this date.

Yeah this would just be starting after they ship the next expansion pack for the most part so it'd like be 3-4 years away.

Karl Hawk · Nov 22, 2015

Einchy said:
I don't have quotes on hand but I remember them saying specifically that this was the end of Geralt's story and never that it was their last Witcher game.

I'd be amazed if Witcher 4 doesn't have us playing as Ciri.

Say what you will about Ciri, but I really want her as a playable character in the next Witcher game

Majestad · Nov 22, 2015

Ciri is basically GOD at the end of W3. Unless they strip her away from her powers, how can she be the protagonist? She can kill dozens in the blink of an eye.

FelipeMGM · Nov 22, 2015

I dont think they can make such a huge open world RPG like W3 on the first try, even with all the assets. Maybe they will make a less ambitious game, but that still have great story and the core gameplay. And I hope it star Ciri, she is fucking awesome

DealWithIt · Nov 22, 2015

Majestad said:
Ciri is basically GOD at the end of W3. Unless they strip her away from her powers, how can she be the protagonist? She can kill dozens in the blink of an eye.

Playing as Ciri at the end of witcher 3 is extremely cool, but not conducive to good long-term gameplay. You could imagine them saying her running with the white frost took away most or all of her power. I think that they could make an interesting design around it limited version of the stuff she does in the game.

iNvid02 · Nov 22, 2015

Extensive knowledge of Andrzej Sapkowskis novels.

we're getting more witcher games

Fantastapotamus · Nov 22, 2015

w0s said:
I thought they said they were done with the witcher. I realize never say never but at least for a bit, I buy them not working on the franchise.

Given how Witcher 3 sold: No way.

Dynasty8 · Nov 22, 2015

I would rather them scrap Geralt and Ciri's story and start fresh in the same universe.

Playing as a new Witcher (past or future) with a set of new characters we've never seen.

TW3 is my GOTY, but I admit the story can confuse those who haven't read the books/lore of the universe. I would love to see a brand new perspective.

Adry9 · Nov 22, 2015

Maybe they start a trilogy around Ciri, but still, it would come out after Cyberpunk so...

iNvid02 said:
we're getting more witcher games

lmao

roytheone · Nov 22, 2015

I hope so! I fell in love with the Witcher universe playing Witcher 3, even plan on reading the books.

Daingurse · Nov 22, 2015

iNvid02 said:
we're getting more witcher games

This was always the case lol. Just no more Geralt unfortunately, which is a shame as he's become one of my favorite characters in recent memory.

Anyway I don't really want to play Ciri, I want to make my own Witcher, so I can choose my school and fighting style. Kinda like the Witcher 1 prototype.

Karl Hawk · Nov 22, 2015

A-One said:
I would rather them scrap Geralt and Ciri's story and start fresh in the same universe.

Playing as a new Witcher (past or future) with a set of new characters we've never seen.

TW3 is my GOTY, but I admit the story can confuse those who haven't read the books/lore of the universe. I would love to see a brand new perspective.

A Witcher game without Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, Dandelion, and Zoltan is a not a Witcher game to me at all.

FelipeMGM · Nov 22, 2015

Majestad said:
Ciri is basically GOD at the end of W3. Unless they strip her away from her powers, how can she be the protagonist? She can kill dozens in the blink of an eye.

That is true, but I just had a wild idea. Spoilers for the end of W3 ahead

What if they made a more linear game where you play as Ciri during her battle with the White Frost at their world? You know, the part where we dont see what happens. That would be a awesome first project for a studio that is just starting

Darryl M R · Nov 22, 2015

More Witcher games? Nice. . but I want all assets to be allocated to Cyberpunk to be honest. Great time to be a gamer regardless.

Einchy · Nov 22, 2015

Karl Hawk said:
Say what you will about Ciri, but I really want her as a playable character in the next Witcher game

I do, too.

She was great in the WItcher 3.

Adry9 · Nov 22, 2015

FelipeMGM said:
That is true, but I just had a wild idea. Spoilers for the end of W3 ahead

What if they made a more linear game where you play as Ciri during her battle with the White Frost at their world? You know, the part where we dont see what happens. That would be a awesome first project for a studio that is just starting

Linear? No way. If they make something it will be an open world, they are too good at that to do something else.

FelipeMGM · Nov 22, 2015

Adry9 said:
Linear? No way. If they make something it will be an open world, they are too good at that to do something else.

Maybe something in the way of Tomb Raider, kinda linear kinda open. But I guess they could still do open world in this scenario

Fantastapotamus · Nov 22, 2015

FelipeMGM said:
That is true, but I just had a wild idea. Spoilers for the end of W3 ahead

What if they made a more linear game where you play as Ciri during her battle with the White Frost at their world? You know, the part where we dont see what happens. That would be a awesome first project for a studio that is just starting

So it would just be an action game? Uhh...no thanks.

funkystudent · Nov 22, 2015

Would like a original character as the MC. Maybe even a character creator. It was the original plan for the first game before they went with Geralt.

Plus Ciri is too OP to be the lead.

And her voice actress was terrible

gabbo · Nov 22, 2015

Karl Hawk said:
A Witcher game without Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, Dandelion, and Zoltan is a not a Witcher game to me at all.

You're getting ahead of yourself. It won't be about Geralt, but that doesn't mean everyone else is being tossed wholesale alongside him

Linkstrikesback · Nov 22, 2015

Majestad said:
Ciri is basically GOD at the end of W3. Unless they strip her away from her powers, how can she be the protagonist? She can kill dozens in the blink of an eye.

Just finished witcher 3 this weekend.

There is no way they can make a game where ciri is the protagonist as she is in the state she is at the end of witcher 3. She's so much more powerful then Geralt, it isn't funny, and he was already so strong compared to everything else alive...

Though I also can't answer who else should be a playable character. The very few witchers alive at the point of W3 makes it an even harder question to answer. It seemed like the witchers were on the verge of going extinct..

Personally, I've only played witcher 3 and honestly would like to see more Geralt, but 3 games as the protagonist is probably enough, and the ending

was fairly concrete that he gave up witchering soon after. (Got the Yennifer ending, Ciri became a witcher, her father thought she died).

I wonder if they'd consider giving a witcher 1/2 remake in the style of 3 a shot again. Then again, if you try a thing like that and it nearly makes your company go broke, you'd probably want to avoid ever doing that again!

Dictator93 · Nov 22, 2015

Linkstrikesback said:
Though I also can't answer who else should be a playable character.

Geralt, and witchers in general, offer such a unique perspective on the world due to their mercenary life style, longevity, and "neutral" stance toward political happenings.

It is hard to imagine a CDPR game where that stuff is not a huge part of it.

Linkstrikesback · Nov 22, 2015

Dictator93 said:
Geralt, and witchers in general, offer such a unique perspective on the world due to their mercenary life style, longevity, and "neutral" stance toward political happenings.

It is hard to imagine a CDPR game where that stuff is not a huge part of it.

I mean, yeah, obviously it would have to be a witcher, but unless it's a prequel, it seemed like the witcher race was basically going to be extinct very soon by the end of witcher 3. You can visit ruins that appeared to be where the bear school was in skelliege, the wolf school was in shambles, the cat school turned in to little more than assassins. Maybe the Griffin and vipers were in better state, but I don't know given how poorly the others were doing.

A prequel from when Vesemir was (much) younger, maybe?

Obliterator · Nov 22, 2015

I think its for sure possible. One thing I'm very confident in is somehow we will get Witcher 4 not TOO far from now. Given its huge critical acclaim and fantastic sales they aren't going to want to sit on the franchise for too long. They need to capitalize. Also as excited as I am for Cyberpunk there is no guarantee it will be successful while Witcher 4 is a pretty much guaranteed hit.

So yeah one way or another we will get Witcher 4 "decently" soon.

JoeyJungle · Nov 22, 2015

I think CD Projekt uses extremely small teams for pre-production. Joe Skrebels said on the Chat Very Good podcast a couple episodes ago that he had an interview with them and asked about how development on Cyberpunk 2077 was going since there had been no news since the trailer.

They said that when they announced the game, they were still in pre-production and only had 7 people working on it for a good amount of time. Apparently the point of the trailer was to attract applicants to the studio as much as it was to announce the game.

Dunno if that would be the same case with Witcher 4 though.

Vulcano's assistant · Nov 22, 2015

I rather play a random made up sorceress than Ciri to be honest. Enough of swords.

His Majesty · Nov 22, 2015

I'd like to see a sorceress/sorcerer take the lead in their next title. Develop completely game mechanics around the magic system from The Witcher universe and make an intricate political story with loads of c&c. No open world necessary for that.

MetroidPrimeRib · Nov 22, 2015

It would probably be a Ciri game but Ciri is amazingly OP so it would have to be like, Devil May Cry or some shit

HK-47 · Nov 22, 2015

Vulcano's assistant said:
I rather play a random made up sorceress than Ciri to be honest. Enough of swords.

Sounds like a boring and weird game. Sorceresses arent exactly D&D wizards and they are absurdly powerful.

HK-47 · Nov 22, 2015

MetroidPrimeRib said:
It would probably be a Ciri game but Ciri is amazingly OP so it would have to be like, Devil May Cry or some shit

She'll be toned down probably. Geralt was. He never moved as fast as described in the books.

flaxknuckles · Nov 22, 2015

Vulcano's assistant said:
I rather play a random made up sorceress than Ciri to be honest. Enough of swords.

I do feel like I'd rather play as someone with no attachment to previous characters, like what Bioware is doing with Mass Effect Adromeda. We got three games with Geralt and crew, give them a rest.

Obliterator · Nov 22, 2015

I REALLY hope we dont have create a character in Witcher 4. One of the reasons the narrative is so damn strong in the Witcher series is its a set character with his own personality and motivations.

Not every RPG needs create a character

Vulcano's assistant · Nov 22, 2015

HK-47 said:
Sounds like a boring and weird game. Sorceress's arent exactly D&D wizards and they are absurdly powerful.

Alright some sort of magic apprentice then. is there anything like that? a Guybrush Threepwood kind of character but replace Pirate with Magic.

Linkstrikesback · Nov 22, 2015

Obliterator said:
I think its for sure possible. One thing I'm very confident in is somehow we will get Witcher 4 not TOO far from now. Given its huge critical acclaim and fantastic sales they aren't going to want to sit on the franchise for too long. They need to capitalize. Also as excited as I am for Cyberpunk there is no guarantee it will be successful while Witcher 4 is a pretty much guaranteed hit.

So yeah one way or another we will get Witcher 4 "decently" soon.

I would be utterly unsurprised if Witcher 4 happens within 3 years.

The cyberpunk game seems like a cool idea, but if the budget for it is anywhere near witcher3 (wasn't it around $80m?), that's going to be a massive gamble on a unproven IP. 2 projects side by side, with one being the witcher series, at least in principle sound safer for the company.

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