CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt took many risks during its development, mixing expansive storytelling with an open world RPG.

the witcher 3

CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was undoubtedly a massive success, with the third mainline entry in The Witcher video game franchise amassing critical acclaim from both players and reviewers alike.

The title was released for PC and consoles back in May 2015, and has seen multiple expansions and quality of life updates since then, and has stood the test of time as one of the best RPGs to have been ever made.

However, making an expansive RPG on the same scale as The Witcher 3 is no easy task, and the studio had to take quite a few risks along the way – which may or may not have worked well in its favor initially.

The Witcher 3 Was A Risky Game To Develop For, Especially With Its Story Focus

The Witcher 3 Wild HuntThe Witcher 3 faced some hurdles in development | image Credit: CD Projekt Red

Speaking to GamesRadar+ in an exclusive interview, the then lead designer of The Witcher 3, Mateusz Tomaskiewicz detailed the many hardships and innovations the game had to go through during its development.

In particular, The Witcher 3 had been described to be a very risky game to develop for, at least at that time for CD Projekt Red. Mateusz described the pitfalls experienced by the team, mentioning that what The Witcher 3 tried to do at the time was kind of unique – there was no other RPG quite like it yet.

 

This can perhaps be attributed to why the game was so massively successful, as it filled a niche previously unknown. The game merged elements of a traditional RPG, with expansive storytelling segments that were more akin to an action-adventure game.

The Witcher 3 combined RPG elements with expansive storytellingCD Projekt Red took a lot of risks | Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

Mateusz also remarked that they did not really know whether the open world style of the game would be an ideal fit for the storytelling. After all, The Witcher 3 combined aspects of traditional, linear, single player RPGs with open world elements – which is not something CD Projekt Red was familiar with at the time.

Coming from The Witcher 2, this was a massive overhaul, and the team had to put in quite a lot more effort and risk than one would expect. It all paid off in the end though, and Wild Hunt remains a massive success and  accomplishment for CD Projekt Red, with the title managing to bag multiple Game of The Year awards along the way.

Things Worked Out In The End, And The Witcher Series Is More Popular Than Ever

The Witcher 4, with CiriThe Witcher IV is shaping up to be quite exciting | Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

The Witcher series was always considered to be an underdog of sorts, at least until The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings. The first Witcher game was well received, and praised for its storytelling, but was criticized for its outdated game engine, and clunky combat system.

A lot has transpired between these years, and The Witcher 3 remains the most accessible entry yet – truly built for a modern audience.

Following the success of The Witcher 3, developer CD Projekt Red has already confirmed the development of a sequel in the form of The Witcher IV, which brings Ciri as the protagonist, with Geralt having a much smaller role this time around.

How the game will shape up remains to be seen, but one thing lies for certain – the Witcher series is stronger than ever, and hopefully manages to live up to the hype after the disastrous Cyberpunk 2077 launch.