Image: CD Projekt Red via Kami/YouTube
Ian Walker loves exploring niche communities and researching the development of classic video games.
Doug Cockle, voice actor of The Witcher protagonist Geralt of Rivia, is taking back previous comments about the eponymous hero appearing in The Witcher 4 after being “slapped” by series developer CD Projekt Red.
“I did go online and I said something about this and then I got slapped by CD Projekt,” Cockle told Geektown on Dec. 2. “I don’t know how true it is. I went off a rumor. I thought I’d seen somebody from CD Projekt say that Geralt will be in Witcher 4 but he won’t be the main character. And I don’t actually know if that’s true now because they came back and they went, ‘We haven’t put anything out there, don’t say anything.’ So Witcher 4 is a complete mystery to me. I actually don’t know.”
Cockle previously made headlines when he said Geralt won’t be the playable protagonist in the next Witcher game but will still pop his head up to say hello.
Official details about the game, codenamed Project Polaris, are scarce, but CD Projekt Red has said it will be the start of a new trilogy. A teaser image released two years ago depicts a lynx medallion similar to Geralt’s iconic wolf medallion covered in snow, which may indicate the game’s focus on a new Witcher. CD Projekt Red’s financial results from Q1 of 2024 showed that over 400 employees are dedicated to the game’s development.
“The truth is I can’t answer the question because I’ve signed an NDA,” Cockle said during this most recent interview, quite possibly breaking that very NDA by saying so. “So even if I did know, I’d have to lie to you.”
Nothing like shining a light on past comments to distance yourself from past comments. I can just imagine some PR person at CD Projekt Red screaming into a Geralt plushie right now.