Could Ciri and Geralt from ‘The Witcher 3’ Be Part of ‘Cyberpunk 2077’?
With the concept of interdimensional travel being a huge part of the franchise, it's entirely plausible.
For the past few weeks I’ve been working my way through the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As Geralt of Rivia I’ve been experiencing everything I can get my hands on while traveling the world. I’ve braved the dangers of the war-torn landscapes covering Velen, fought against the criminal underworld of Novigrad, fist-fought a bear in Skellige and even traveled between different worlds thanks to the help of an old friend. But as I continue to complete contracts, quests and the excellent offering of DLC for the game; I’ve started to feel the end approaching – and while it’s a damn good one, I can’t help but wonder what’s next for the characters I’ve fallen in love with.
While CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Blood and Wine is the end of the franchise, a small glimmer of hope still remains within one of The Witcher 3’s numerous conversations.
During the opening act of the game Geralt spends a sizable chunk of time looking for his adopted daughter Ciri, whom he finds after lifting the curse placed on her protector. Once reunited on the Isle of Mists, they end up sitting down to catch up on the events of the last several years.
Ciri possesses a type of blood with magical properties, ones which (when controlled) allow her to open portals between worlds and teleport between dimensions at will. It’s the reason the Wild Hunt is chasing her in the first place and also the reason why a connection between CD Projekt Red’s next project and The Witcher 3 is entirely possible.
While Ciri was hiding from the Wild Hunt she claims to have hid in many worlds, but needed to find one where Eredin couldn’t follow – one where his powers wouldn’t prove useful against the inhabitants essentially. After nearly being caught by Eredin, Ciri was joined by Avallac’h, who then took the two through a portal to a world where Eredin couldn’t find them for nearly half a year. Upon asking Ciri about the world in question, her response is as follows:
“People there had metal in their heads, waged war from a distance, using things similar to megascopes. And there were no horses, everyone had their own flying ship instead.”
Immediately I started thinking of the world behind Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, trying to place what waging war from a distance would look like to someone familiar with technology and ranged weaponry: then it clicked. Could Ciri be talking about the world of Cyberpunk 2077?
Announced back in January of 2013, Cyberpunk 2077 is CD’s title based on the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG series. Set in the near future, Cyberpunk 2077 aims to provide a look into what extremely advanced technology could do to human society in a way similar to Deus Ex. While we’ve yet to see much outside of the trailer provided back in 2013, the atmosphere sure seems to fit what Ciri was discussing in her conversation with Geralt: flying police cars, metallic implants on the masked protagonist and law enforcement shooting rifles from a distance.
Honestly though, Ciri’s dialogue isn’t much to go on when it comes to confirmation – especially considering that CD Projekt Red would probably need to obtain permission to continue using her character from the original writer of The Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski. Even with that hoop to jump through though, I find it hard to believe the connection isn’t valid in some shape or form.
In most cases these sort of easter eggs are teasing video games developers have yet to reveal to the public, like Naughty Dog did for example. It’s also worth noting that they typically aren’t recognized until years later too, as was the case with The Last of Us being revealed in Uncharted 3. But with Cyberpunk 2077 officially revealed 2 years before the release of The Witcher 3 and the statement from Ciri seeming so straightforward – it’s hard to believe CD Projekt Red would pass an opportunity to connect the two up.
The Witcher 2077, as imagined by Adam Burn.
The ability to make connections like these is one of the main reasons a franchise like The Witcher has the capacity to become timeless as well, allowing gifted individuals like Ciri to explore an endless plethora of worlds complete with new concepts each time. With different civilizations and different representations of humanity, the gameplay behind each title in the franchise could evolve forward as well. But, hey, even a brief appearance from Ciri would be a welcome addition to Cyberpunk 2077 when it releases.
Then again, maybe I’m just too obsessed with the fantastic Witcher 2077 mashup created by Adam Burn to celebrate his love for the game.
