"Witcher 4 Director Clarifies: Ciri's Face Unchanged"

The director of *The Witcher 4* has clarified that a new video features the same in-game model of Ciri, dispelling rumors that her face had been altered. Yesterday, CD Projekt released a behind-the-scenes look at *The Witcher 4's* cinematic reveal trailer, sparking fan discussions about Ciri's appearance in two brief clips at the 2:11 and 5:47 marks. These moments zoom in on Ciri's face, leading to comments about subtle differences in her facial features compared to the main trailer. Some fans even praised the 5:47 mark as a "perfect representation of a slightly older Ciri," expressing their satisfaction with her look.

This sparked speculation that CD Projekt might have responded to earlier "backlash" about Ciri's appearance in the reveal trailer. However, *The Witcher 4* game director Sebastian Kalemba took to social media to clarify that the in-game model of Ciri had not been modified. He explained that the new video showed raw footage without the cinematic enhancements like facial animations, lighting, and virtual camera lenses used in the main trailer.

"The behind-the-scenes video features the same in-game model of Ciri as seen in the original trailer," Kalemba stated. "We have not modified it. What you’re seeing is raw footage — without facial animation, lighting, or virtual camera lenses. While it’s still in-engine, it represents a work-in-progress snapshot taken before we applied cinematic touches for the purpose of that video. This variation is a natural part of the game development process. At this point, any character's appearance may vary depending on the medium — whether it’s in a trailer, a 3D model, or in-game."

A witty comment on the Witcher subreddit by user Fehndrix humorously noted, "Redditor discovers the effect that lighting can have on an in-game face model, is confused."

*The Witcher 4* marks the beginning of a new trilogy set after the events of *The Witcher 3*, with Ciri taking the lead role instead of Geralt. In an exclusive interview with IGN, executive producer Małgorzata Mitręga explained that Ciri was a "very organic, logical choice" for the protagonist, highlighting her depth and significance in the saga. "It was always about her, starting from the Saga when you read it in the books. She's an amazing, layered character. And of course, as a protagonist we said goodbye to Geralt previously. So this is a continuation. I guess for all of us it’s like she was meant to be. That was always her."

Kalemba added that Ciri's youthfulness allows players more freedom to shape her character compared to Geralt, giving developers more room to explore her story. Despite potential backlash, both Mitręga and Kalemba emphasized that Ciri's role as the protagonist was a deliberate and well-thought-out decision. Kalemba elaborated, "There was an intention behind this choice. It was far from roulette. It wasn't random. I remember we had discussions nine years ago, we were talking about who's next? The very, very instant answer was Ciri. There are many reasons behind that. We've already mentioned a few. But she really deserves a stage and we want players to really experience her story because she has so much to tell, so much to prove. The amount of challenges that are in front of her give us so much amazing energy and fuel to create an epic saga that we had no choice but to go with it. We all felt that this is the way. I believe this is the super right choice."

In a January interview with IGN about Netflix’s upcoming animated film, *The Witcher: Sirens of The Deep*, Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle expressed his support for CD Projekt's decision to focus on Ciri. "I'm really excited," he said. "I think it's a really good move. I mean, I always thought that continuing the Saga, but shifting to Ciri would be a really, really interesting move for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because of things that happen in the books, which I don't want to give away because people, I want people to go read. So yeah, I think it's really exciting. I can't wait. I can't wait to see what they've done."

For more on *The Witcher 4*, check out our exclusive trailer breakdown and an interview with CD Projekt discussing how they plan to avoid a *Cyberpunk 2077*-style launch disaster.