Summary
CD Projekt Red has some enticingly ambitious plans forThe Witcherfranchise, with multiple games in the pipeline, including a brand-new full-scale AAA trilogy. One of its side projects,Codename Sirius,will dabble in multiplayer, and while details are scant and ambiguous for the upcoming title, there is an easy option for the studio to create different factions for players to choose in its shared world via the varying Witcher Schools inThe Witcher.
CD Projekt Red’s Forecast for the Future
With the course-correcting Phantom Liberty bringingCyberpunk 2077to the standard many fans expected at launch, and CD Projekt Red back in tenuously good graces, eyes are cast to the future for the prestigious studio as they unveiled plans for a handful of new titles back in October. Besides the newWitchertrilogy, a remake of the first game, the Cyberpunk2077sequel, and a mysterious new IP,Codename Siriusstood out, with its unique summary piquing fans' curiosity. Toted as a multiplayer title with singleplayer elements, many speculate the game will be an MMORPG, either in the traditional shared world mold likeWorld of Warcraft, or in a more instanced implementation akin toDestiny 2. If either case ends up being accurate, the different Witcher Schools would be an easy solution to creating a faction system between players, or even for class selection to implement the tank/heals/DPS holy trinity of cooperative game design.
Higher Witcher Education
According to lore, there are seven distinct Schools of the Witcher, split off from the original Order of Witchers:
Throughout Geralt’s adventuresover the course ofThe Witchertrilogy, he has run-ins with Witchers from other schools, and utilizes weapons and armor tailored for each of the seven. They have different backgrounds, headquarters, and opposing philosophies, all of which could be built upon to create differing player archetypes forCodename Sirius. Selecting a Witcher medallion and corresponding school at player creation could be CD Projekt Red’s class system for the upcoming title, nailing the player fantasy, sense of agency, and variety in one fell swoop.
The established identities of theseven Witcher Schoolscould be expanded upon or rewritten to suit CD Projekt Red’s needs. Given the presumption thatSiriuswill entail players creating their own unique Witcher, there are liberties the studio could take to expand player choice. One example could be retconning the omission of females from becoming Witchers in all but two of the schools (School of the Cat and School of the Wolf’s exception for Ciri), untethering player’s gender decision from specific factions.
Finding the Right Fit With Witcher School
CD Projekt Red would have to make the decision between setting the game during an era when all seven were in prominence, or altering cannon so that they endured. By Geralt’s day and age, all but a few of the Witcher Schools had fizzled to extinction, so setting the game several centuries before his birth seems likely. However, as every Witcher School beyond theSchool of the Wolfplayed a relatively inconsequential role in the source material, the mythos behind them is not unflexible.
At this point in development, with so little divulged about whatSiriuswill end up becoming, any inference about the game is just conjecture. It is clear, though, thatThe Witcheruniverse is a rich tapestry, with boundless potential for mainline entries and spin-offs. The template for an MMORPG or another multiplayer genre is there for the taking, and the IP is in fantastic hands with CD Projekt Red andThe Molasses Flood, which it acquired in 2021 to work onSirius.
