Two and a half years after The Witcher 4‘s announcement, CD Projekt finally gave it the big reveal treatment late in 2024, confirming Ciri to be the focus this time around. And now Doug Cockle – voice of former series protagonist Geralt of Rivia – has had his say, calling the switch to a new main character, a “really, really interesting move for all kinds of reasons”.
Speaking to Eurogamer shortly after The Witcher 4’s reveal last year, CD Projekt called Ciri’s promotion to lead “really exciting” in terms of the opportunities it opened up, “by just virtue of who she is [and] what we can do with her in terms of the gameplay as well.” And it turns out that’s a sentiment Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle shares.
“I’m really excited,” he recently revealed to IGN. “I think it’s a really good move. I mean, I always thought that continuing the Saga, but shifting to Ciri would be a really, really interesting move for all kinds of reasons. But mostly because of things that happen in the books, which I don’t want to give away because people, I want people to go read. So yeah, I think it’s really exciting. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see what they’ve done.”
Of course, Cockle is now confirmed to be returning as Geralt in The Witcher 4, despite the character’s demotion – although it’s not currently clear how substantial a role he’ll play. The actor had already let slip he’d be “part of” the new game last August- earning himself a bit of a slap on the wrist from CD Projekt – and it was finally made official when Geralt popped up at the end of December’s reveal trailer to utter a gravelly, “See you on the path”.
Unfortunately for impatient sorts, The Witcher 4 is likely still some considerable way off (CD Projekt’s hasn’t even announced a release year yet), but fans can, at least, get a fresh Cockle fix much sooner. The actor is reprising the role of Geralt of Rivia in Netflix‘s upcoming animated movie The Witcher: Sirens of The Deep, which joins the streaming service on 11th February.