The Witcher 4, codenamed Polaris internally at CD Projekt RED, is steeped in mystery – and fans are doing their best to try to work out details from clues and the literature.

A lot of this information points to the next game in The Witcher series being a prequel, and while that may appeal to some, it’s leaving some fans disappointed.

One fan on Reddit has posted a pretty convincing theory that The Witcher 4 will be a prequel, set hundreds of years before the adventures with Geralt.

It’s now assumed that the game takes place during the “golden years of the Witchers” and will be based in Kovir.

In another thread, some are intrigued, but there are outliers who think this is a wrong move for the franchise.

The creator of this thread, NoWishbone8247, says, “I don’t think going back in time is a good idea. These games have always been strongly based on books, everyone who has read them knows that this world does not matter much, only characters such as Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, Dikstra, Regis etc.”

In reply, one Redditor comments with cautious optimism, “I would hate the idea of a prequel, but if there is someone who could pull it off and make it engaging, it’s CDPR.”

There are a lot of cautious players with comments such as, “[It] could brick, could be an absolute masterpiece.”

“I agree with not wanting a prequel,” says OmegaVizion, who then discusses the depth of the world in the books and shows there’s more to the franchise than just Geralt.

This is all speculation, so far.

We have no firm word on the next game, though it is in active development and the writers are piecing together the story currently.

I guess we’ll have to wait just a little longer to find out more, but one thing is for certain, CD Projekt RED will do right by the series and the fans.