Doug Cockle, the voice actor for Geralt of Rivia, has defended the decision to make Ciri the lead character in The Witcher 4, responding to criticism that the move is “woke” by urging sceptics to read the original novels.
Speaking in a recent interview, Cockle said it was natural for the franchise to focus on a different protagonist after Geralt’s story had reached its conclusion.
“You can’t just have Geralt for every single game for The Witcher ad nauseam through eternity,” he said. “It’s a cool character from the Witcher, and they’re going to focus on that character.”
The Witcher 4 was officially announced at the 2024 Game Awards, revealing that Ciri would star in the upcoming game. Cockle said the previous expansion, Blood and Wine, was intended to wrap up Geralt’s journey.
“We’ve seen the end of Geralt’s journey,” he said. “Celebrate Ciri, I celebrate her being the protagonist.”
Some fans have criticised the choice, describing it as a “woke” decision.
Cockle rejected this, stating: “If you think it’s woke, read the damn books — they’re good, first of all. And secondly, you won’t think it’s so woke anymore.”
The Witcher games are based on a series of novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which increasingly centre on Ciri’s character. Cockle noted that the games had not yet fully explored her story, which the new game now plans to address.
“There’s a whole rich world of stuff to explore with Ciri that they didn’t do when they put her into Witcher 3, because the story was about Geralt. But she hints at it,” he said.
Cockle also compared the transition to other popular franchises that have moved on from their original leads.
“Uncharted put Nathan Drake into retirement so we could focus on Chloe and Nadine in The Lost Legacy, and they were a breath of fresh air,” he said.
No release date has yet been announced for The Witcher 4. In the meantime, fans are encouraged to revisit The Witcher 3 or explore similar role-playing games.
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