Doug Cockle 'Got Slapped' by CD Projekt for Saying Geralt Is in The Witcher 4 but Not as the Main Character

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Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle has revealed he “got slapped” by CD Projekt for saying the character is set to appear in The Witcher 4 but not as the main character.

In an interview with Geektown at MCM Comic Con Birmingham, Cockle walked back comments he made in August in a Fall Damage video. Here’s what he said at the time:

"Witcher 4 has been announced. I can't say anything about it. What we know is that Geralt will be part of the game, we just don't know how much, and the game won't focus on Geralt. So it's not about him this time. We don't know who it's about. I'm excited to find out. I want to know! I have not seen any script yet — I mean, I couldn't tell you if I did. This is the thing, so I could be lying through my teeth. But I'm not. Or am I?"

CD Projekt had long made clear that Geralt's saga had come to an end, meaning a new protagonist was fully expected for Polaris, but this was the first confirmation he'd be in the next game at all — and fueled some rampant fan theories.

Only a single teaser image, below, has otherwise been revealed for The Witcher 4, but it was enough to suggest Ciri will be the protagonist this time around. What's considered the "true" ending of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, thanks to its story being continued in canon comics, sees her become a witcher herself.

Polaris, aka The Witcher 4<br />CD Projekt Red confirmed that a new Witcher game that would mark the beginning of a new saga was in development in March 2022, and though it's not officially called The Witcher 4, this one can be thought of as the true next Witcher game.<br /><br />Later revealed to be codenamed Polaris, the new game won't be released until 2025 at the earliest as it only entered pre-production in May 2022. It's also being developed in Unreal Engine 5, a new endeavour for CD Projekt Red that's essentially requiring them to create everything from the ground-up and establish a new foundation for its games going forward. It will, however, be one of the next two games released by CD Projekt Red.<br /><br />(Image: CD Projekt Red)

But now, Cockle has revealed those comments raised a few eyebrows at The Witcher developer CD Projekt, and he now insists he has no idea if Geralt is in The Witcher 4, or who the main character is — although he admits that a non-disclosure agreement would force him to lie about it if he did.

“I did go online and I said something about this and then I got slapped by CD Projekt,” Cockle said. “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 the truth is, the answer to your question is, I don't know what it's going to be. I have ideas. I thought I had an idea what it was. And then I was kind of basically told, ‘We haven't told anybody what it is, so where you got that information we don't know.’

“I think it might be from a really really old statement that somebody who no longer works for CD Projekt actually put out about three years ago. So Witcher 4 is a complete mystery to me. I actually don't know.”

Later in the interview, Cockle said Ciri as protagonist in The Witcher 4 would make sense, pointing to her ability to travel between worlds. He also reveals that years ago he spoke with someone at CD Projekt about what a future Witcher video game might look like, and discussed a Witcher origin story, among other ideas.

Ultimately, though, Cockle is keeping his cards close to his chest here. “The truth is I can’t answer the question because I’ve signed an NDA,” he said. “So even if I did know, I’d have to lie to you.”

Last month, CD Projekt confirmed The Witcher 4 had entered full-scale production. As part of its latest financial results, the Polish company said that Project Polaris — the first instalment in the new Witcher trilogy — had progressed from preproduction to full-scale production.

“I’m proud to confirm that several weeks ago the Polaris team wrapped up preproduction and moved on to full-scale production — the most intensive phase of development,” commented joint CEO Michał Nowakowski. “We are very pleased with our progress on this project, and I wish to thank the team for its dedication.”

"I'm thrilled to announce that Project Polaris has entered the full-scale production phase," game director Sebastian Kalemba tweeted. "With new challenges just around the corner, it’s the talented and hard-working people who make me believe we can together make the upcoming Witcher Saga a remarkable experience. No stopping now! Stay tuned for what’s on the other side of the coin!"

CD Projekt currently has 400 developers working on Polaris, the majority of its 650-person total development staff. That's down from the 410 reported at the end of July. 64 are working on Orion, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, 42 on Sirius, The Witcher game developed by The Molasses Flood, and 18 on Hadar, CD Projekt's brand new IP.

The developer had indicated it had left Cyberpunk 2077 development behind, but the studio plans to reveal Update 2.2 later today, December 10, in a surprise patch release.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].