The story of Geralt of Rivia and Ciri wrapped up once and for all inThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and CD Projekt Red has suggested multiple times that Geralt will not be appearing in any future games in the franchise. It has been confirmed, however, that CD Projekt Red will be developing new content in bothTheWitcherand theCyberpunkfranchise simultaneously as part of the “RED 2.0 Transformation Plan.”
This plan comes in the wake of the chaotic release ofCyberpunk 2077, and criticism of the crunch time involved in the game’s development. The possibility of a new game inThe Witcherseries will have many fans of the franchise excited. With CD Projekt Red undergoing some significant changes, here are just some of the reasons that the nextWitchergame could work well as a multiplayer experience.
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A Multiplayer The Witcher Game
Following upThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntwith another singleplayer RPG would be an extremely ambitious task, one which CD Projekt Red might be reluctant to pursue after the difficulties developingCyberpunk 2077. The last game wrapped up multiple plotlines which had been left over since the novels, including killing major characters like Vesemir. While a singleplayer story focused around another Witcher is possible, Geralt of Rivia is also a very tough act to follow.
TheWitcherseriesmight be able to gain a successful second life as a multiplayer game. Multiplayer games often rely far less on story, with players creating their own experiences with one another instead of relying on fully-developed plotlines for their engagement with the world. Not only that, but the combat and monster-hunting aspects ofThe Witcher 3were very well developed and could stand to work well in a multiplayer game.
A multiplayerWitchergame could see players as part of aschool of witchersat some point before Geralt’s time. As in games likeMonster Hunter: World, players could go on the hunt in groups, tracking down challenging foes as they explore parts ofThe Witcher’s world which have yet to be depicted in the games.
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The Future Of The Witcher
A tight multiplayer experience could help getCD Projekt Redback on its feet. Perhaps it would help the studio avoid overextending itself by trying to following upThe Witcher3 with another epic, sprawling singleplayer experience.
There would be someWitcher 3combatmechanics which would need edits for multiplayer. It’s often possible inThe Witcher 3to kite monsters on horseback and slowly wear down their health in a war of attrition rather than reacting quickly to attacks, for example. This isn’t a problem in a singleplayer game, but could negatively effect a multiplayer experience.
Similarly, the sword combat inThe Witcher 3is designed for fights with NPCs with a limited set of reactions and tactics, and would have to be adjusted for the far more dynamic PvP combat that a multiplayer game would allow, if the series goes down that route. If CD Projekt Red wanted to develop a more fleshed-out world, the world ofThe Witchercould even be expanded into anMMORPG.
The MMORPG market, however, could easily prove too risky to rely upon during the studio’s attempted transformation. As games likeStar Wars: The Old Republicshow, experienced RPG developers have sunk huge amounts of time and money into MMO projects in the past for disappointing returns.
Many fans will be curious to see how CD Projekt Red plans to handleThe Witcherfranchise going forward, especially after the disastrous press surrounding therelease ofCyberpunk 2077. Whatever the studio chooses, it is undoubtedly at a turning point. Whether or not it will be able make the necessary changes to succeed in the new decade remains to be seen.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
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