For many players, The Witcher 3 was not just another RPG—it was one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever created. The source briefing for this article stops there, with a dangling "But now..." that hints at the immense anticipation around the next entry in the series, widely referred to as The Witcher 4 and reportedly targeting a 2026 release.

That is nearly all the concrete information available from official channels. No confirmed features, no screenshots, no plot details, no protagonist name. Yet the vacuum of facts has not stopped the fan community from building a wish list of what the next game absolutely must deliver. Without official confirmation of any single item on that list, the real story here is the weight of expectation that CD Projekt Red must navigate.

The mountain left by The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt set a standard for open-world storytelling that few games have matched. Its writing was sharp, its side quests were often more memorable than main missions in other RPGs, and its moral choices rarely offered clean outcomes. The game sold over 50 million copies (according to CD Projekt Red's own figures) and won hundreds of Game of the Year awards. For a sequel to live up to that legacy, it cannot simply iterate—it must innovate while honoring the tone and depth that made the original special.

The source briefing underscores this: "The Witcher 3 was not just another RPG; it was one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever created." That sentence is a promise and a threat. It means the bar is stratospheric. It also means that any sequel judged against that memory will face scrutiny that is almost unfair.

What players are talking about

Without official word, the community has latched onto a few recurring desires. These are not sourced from CD Projekt Red—they are player hopes circulating in forums, social media, and speculation pieces. A responsible article can only report them as speculation, not fact.

Strong, nuanced storytelling tops nearly every wish list. The Witcher 3’s best moments were its character-driven arcs, from the Bloody Baron to the final choices in the main quest. Players want a narrative that treats them like adults, where there is no right answer and every decision carries weight.

Another common hope is for a meaningful protagonist. While Geralt of Rivia defined the franchise, many fans expect a new lead character to take the reins—someone with a different school background, perhaps a new witcher from the School of the Lynx (as teased by CD Projekt Red in a concept image shared in 2022). But that image and the school name remain the only official hints about the setting.

Combat and exploration also come up frequently. The Witcher 3’s combat was serviceable but not revolutionary. Players want tighter mechanics, more varied enemy behavior, and a world that reacts dynamically to player choices beyond just dialogue trees.

The 800-pound gorilla: Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red cannot discuss The Witcher 4 without the shadow of Cyberpunk 2077 looming. That game’s disastrous 2020 launch damaged the studio’s reputation, despite years of patches and the excellent Phantom Liberty expansion. The company has publicly stated that it learned hard lessons about scope management, transparency, and quality assurance. For The Witcher 4, the studio will be under enormous pressure to ship a polished product the first time.

This context makes the rumored 2026 release both ambitious and risky. The Witcher 3 took about three and a half years from announcement to launch. If The Witcher 4 follows a similar cadence, an announcement could come as early as late 2023 or 2024, giving the studio time to craft a game that meets expectations.

What must be in the game, according to no official source

Because the source material provides zero specifics, any article claiming to list "5 things that absolutely must be in the game" would be inventing those details. The honest answer is: nobody outside CD Projekt Red knows yet. What we can say is that the game must earn its place alongside The Witcher 3. That means authentic character writing, a world that feels lived in, choices that hurt, and a sense of consequence that persists across hundreds of hours.

It also means respecting the source material. Andrzej Sapkowski’s books are the foundation. The Witcher 3 adapted them loosely but faithfully. The sequel should continue that tradition, whether it adapts new arcs or tells an original story that feels true to the setting.

The bottom line

The Witcher 4 is perhaps the most anticipated RPG of the decade, but right now it exists only as a promise and a year on a slide deck. Until CD Projekt Red releases actual details, any list of requirements is speculative. The only thing that “absolutely must be in the game” is a developer team that understands the weight of the name it carries. Based on the studio's past work, that understanding exists. Whether it can be executed remains to be seen.

The source briefing ends with "But now..." That ellipsis is the space between one masterpiece and whatever comes next. Filling it with hype is easy. Filling it with a worthy successor is the hard part.