CD Projekt RED Revealed Original The Witcher Could Have Included Multiplayer Mode

The first installment of The Witcher from CD Projekt RED, released almost 20 years ago, could have been completely different—in particular, the developers confirmed that they considered the possibility of adding multiplayer to the game but were unable to implement the idea for different reasons.

At the Digital Dragons held in Krakow, GamesRadar+ interviewed senior technical writer at CD Projekt RED, Adrian Fulneczek, where he revealed that the studios considered making a multiplayer mode in The Witcher, but it didn’t happen, and as he added, “It shows ambition.” During the interview, he, along with CD Projekt RED’s lead technical writer Jaroslaw Rucinski, also assured fans that the studio's upcoming projects - The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 - will not repeat the launch mistakes of Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, as the studio pays great attention to their system documentation, which was not the case before.

The Witcher was not the first in which multiplayer mode was scrapped—the abovementioned Cyberpunk 2077 also made this list. However, it’s confirmed that the upcoming Cyberpunk sequel will include a multiplayer mode, though the details of it, as the game as a whole, remain unknown.

Moreover, CD Projekt RED is also developing Project Sirius—the spin-off to The Witcher franchise, which actually brings multiplayer mode to the game series. Recently, a former Destiny 2 developer, Kwan Perng, joined the company as ‘Lead Writer’ for the upcoming game. Project Sirius is also confirmed to feature a story mode.

Fool’s Theory studio is developing a remake of The Witcher, announced in 2022. It is also rumored that the company is producing a new DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which will set up events for the upcoming fourth installment.